


Oops! All Links: A Linked Universe Story

by FrancisDuFresne



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Action/Adventure, Blood and Gore, Four & Wild (Linked Universe) Bonding, Gen, Good Sibling Twilight (Linked Universe), Good Sibling Wind (Linked Universe), Insecure Hyrule (Linked Universe), Legend (Linked Universe) Swears, Legend (Linked Universe) is a Little Shit, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Parental Time (Linked Universe), Protective Twilight (Linked Universe), Slice of Life, Soft Sky (Linked Universe), Tactician Warriors (Linked Universe), Time & Hyrule (Linked Universe) Bonding, Time & Twilight (Linked Universe) Bonding, Time (Linked Universe) Angst, Time (Linked Universe) Needs a Hug, Tragedy/Comedy, Twilight & Wind (Linked Universe) Bonding, Twilight (Linked Universe) Angst, Twilight (Linked Universe) Needs a Hug, Warriors (Linked Universe) Has a Plan, Wild (Linked Universe) Angst, Wild (Linked Universe) Has Issues, Wolf Twilight (Linked Universe)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-26 23:54:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 38,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30113961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrancisDuFresne/pseuds/FrancisDuFresne
Summary: Action, adventure, slice-of-life, comedy, drama, angst, this fanfiction of the Linked Universe AU has it all. Follows the nine legendary heroes of Hyrule on their daring quest to defeat Dark Link and return home.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 35





	1. Fright

Night fell upon the young heroes slowly but steadily. They found a clearing just off the forest path and set up camp. As the Heroes of the Wild and Hyrule set about starting a fire, Twilight and Time scouted the area for monsters and got a lay of the land. Satisfied, they came back a few minutes later to a roaring fire and their seven companions enjoying idle conversation.

It can get boring and tiring on a long journey like the Links’, so one must make their own fun. “Guys,” Wind said, perking up.

A general murmur of acknowledgment spread through the group.

“We should tell stories.”

Wild sighed. “You know I don’t like to do this.”

Wind started to protest but was interrupted by Time.

“Let the kid have his fun,” he said to Wild with a shrug. Turning to Wind, he asked, “Stories about what?”

“I dunno, something we haven’t talked about yet?”

Warriors piped up, “How about something scary? We don’t tell scary stories often.”

Wind’s eyes lit up. “Sure!” he said.

At the same time, Time’s and Twilight’s darkened. They knew this might not be as fun as Wind hoped it might be. The Links looked around at each other, waiting for someone else to start. _It was my choice to tell stories_ , Wind thought. _May as well start_.

“Well… I had some pretty scary things happen to me on my quests… not really terrifying, more like stressful. The day I turned twelve, my sister Aryll was kidnapped. A gigantic bird came out of nowhere and snatched her up. The whole time it took to save her, I couldn’t bear to think about what she was going through. She was only nine.”

 _A sister?_ Wild looked up. It had never occurred to him that one of the other Links had a sibling. He tried not to think of his sister if he could help it. Between knowing she died in the Calamity and not properly remembering her anyway, it was unpleasant for him. Wind now had his full attention.

“It took a while, but I finally saved her. It felt like a huge weight was lifted off my chest… then Tetra was taken. Our crew decided to chase after a ghost ship. Once we found it, she jumped aboard. Suddenly, we heard her scream. I tried to get on the ghost ship, but I fell into the ocean. I woke up on an unfamiliar island. That’s when I met Ciela and Linebeck. It took a few weeks to find the ghost ship again and save Tetra, but she had been turned to stone. She was freed later, but…”

Four perked up when he heard this. His Zelda suffered a similar fate.

“Well, anyway, I didn’t have too many jump scares. There were some Redeads, but other than that it wasn’t too scary.”

Wind looked around the group, finished with his story. Wild hesitated, then spoke up. “My Zelda practiced and prayed for practically her whole life to master a sealing power that could defeat Ganon. It was terrifying when the Calamity came and we both knew full well that she couldn’t hope to use that power.

“I… I couldn’t show my fear. I had to be there for her. She needed me to lean on, and I couldn’t deny her that. I don’t really remember if it was intentional or not, but around the time I drew the Master Sword, I started to shove all my emotions down until I could barely feel anything. It was almost a relief when I awoke from my hundred-year slumber and my memories were gone, because I forgot all that pressure and I could _feel_ again.”

The rest of the group couldn’t help but stare. They had all had to push fear aside to defeat evil, but they never suppressed their feelings like Wild. Most of them hadn’t, that is. They waited for the young knight to finish, but he seemed to be lost in thought again. In a few meaningful looks, they agreed to leave him be.

Legend picked up the proverbial torch. “I woke up in the dead of night from a vision of Zelda to my uncle holding a sword and shield I didn’t even know we owned. He told me to stay in bed, but you know I couldn’t do that. I found him mortally wounded in the dungeons of Hyrule Castle… then, later, when I thought I was about to save Hyrule, the wizard Agahnim sent me to the Dark World. It was like Hyrule, but it was just… wrong. It was an evil reflection of what I knew. Seeing my world perverted like that was almost too much.”

Silence followed for a good few moments. Still, Time and Twilight were stony-faced. Sky looked around and figured it was as good a time as any to say his bit. “My Zelda went missing. We were riding our Loftwings together. I could feel us having a moment. The clouds around us, inches away from each other… then a tornado cropped up and pulled her underneath the clouds. I spent the next few weeks traveling the air and surface trying to find her.

“I was _this_ close,” he said as he held up his hand, almost touching the tips of his thumb and index finger. “So many times, I almost caught up with her. I lived knowing that while I was doing my own adventuring and fighting, so was she. I knew she could handle herself, but it still stressed the daylights out of me. So I guess I’m in the same boat as you,” he finished, tilting his head in Wind’s direction.

A minute or two passed before Wind asked, “anyone else?”

Twilight looked over to Time. Time gave a near-imperceptible nod.

“I don’t like to talk about this too much,” Twilight began, “but I suppose I can share it with you all. I don’t want to invalidate what you went through or anything, but your fear came from what was around you. Your surroundings, your loved ones in peril, all of that. I’m not an exception.”

The others looked at him, wondering if he was trying to show them up or leading up to something terrible. Inwardly, they thought he wasn’t being humble for a change.

“My gir—best friend, my friends were all taken from our village.”

Only Time noticed the change of wording. He understood Twilight’s reluctance to get attached to anyone.

“I was the last kid left,” Twilight continued. “Our world was stuck in perpetual twilight that kept us living in fear and darkness. I was only saved by the Triforce of Courage. I wasn’t the same, though. You’ve seen me turn into a wolf before. I’m mostly comfortable with it now, but I wasn’t always. The Triforce somehow knew I had the spirit of a wolf. Being a ranch hand, I know how vicious wolves are. How dangerous they can be. It scared me that _that_ was the essence of who I am.”

Legend felt a modicum of guilt. The Dark World transformed him into a helpless rabbit. That was unsettling in its own right, but now he realized he had faced the lesser of two evils.

“As I adventured, I began to understand that wolves are ruthless against their enemies, but they take care of their own just as fiercely. What I had to give and what I had to do to save my friends made me realize that. Malo, Talo, Beth, Colin… Ilia. I didn’t know where they were or if they were safe.”

All the Links understood this feeling well. Twilight felt no need to continue that train of thought.

“Those of you who had companions had someone that was easy to trust. The King of Red Lions, Ciela, Navi, Ezlo, Fi; you knew you could count on them. Midna was something else. For the longest time, I had no way of knowing if she actually had my back, or if she was just using me. That scared me too.”

The sound of Navi’s name made Time flinch, but everyone was so focused on Twilight that they didn’t notice. The longest silence yet followed. Even Wind was speechless. Whether it was out of fear or shock or respect, Twilight couldn’t tell. He felt slightly guilty for unloading all of this on them.

Time eventually began to say something, but the words got stuck in his throat. The other eight stared at him. He had faced far worse pressure in his life, and he knew that he owed his friends a glimpse into his past. He had never told them much about it, only enough to bring them to visit Malon.

“Time?” Hyrule asked.

“Hm?”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want. We’d understand.”

“No, it’s okay,” he murmured. “I… I’ll be brief.”

The Links had no idea what to expect. They were on the edge of their seats.

“I was afraid of being alone.”

The others waited for him to continue, but he didn’t say anything else. He was silent for the rest of the night. Everyone decided that it would be best if they let him be. After a round of “goodnights,” they tucked into their beddings and turned in for the night.

Wild had trouble sleeping. _What did he mean by that? He always had a companion, right? He was never alone. Why would he be afraid of being alone?_

The Links woke at dawn to see their gear neatly packed. Time was making breakfast over a rekindled fire. He had a tired look in his remaining eye. It occurred to the more perceptive of the others that he probably hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep that night.


	2. The Cave

The clanging of metal striking metal rebounded off the walls of the dank cavern. Sparks flew through the stagnant air, pinpricks of light dancing in the darkness. Lamps hanging on belts flickered dimly, barely lighting the scene.

Stalfos surrounded the Links. There were easily a hundred of them, bombarding the nine heroes. “ _Hrrk_!” Legend grunted as he deflected a blow off his Mirror Shield. “You know, maybe this wasn’t the best idea!”

Between parries and dodges, Wild managed “What makes you say that?”

“I still can’t believe—” Legend dodged a swipe at his head— “I was the only one who—“ he parried a crooked sword with his shield— “thought we shouldn’t—” with a spin attack, he sliced off the head of the nearest Stalfos— “go on a stroll through a dank cave!”

Warriors butted in, “Less talking, more fighting! We can settle this once we’re safe!”

While Wind was distracted looking over at his bickering teammates, a Stalfos leaped forward, tackling him to the ground. His sword and shield clattered to the ground. A deformed skull and glowing red eyes stared him in the face. He tried to get up, but it had him pinned. Wind could see the rusted sword being raised higher.

“Guys!” he cried. He covered his face with his arms, as if that would protect him. “HELP! AHHH—”

Twilight wasn’t even the closest of them all to Wind, but he heard him first. He whipped his head toward the scream and saw his youngest comrade about to meet a terrible fate. “NO!” His shout was more of a bark than words.

Faster than eyes could track, his form changed, and a wolf was charging full speed at Wind and his attacker. Five yards from them, the wolf leaped at the monster. In midair, the wolf disappeared again, leaving a furious Twilight in its place. He emerged twirling in a ferocious spin attack. He seemed to glide over Wind, his sword shattering the Stalfos in his wake. He landed on all fours, his boots skidding and kicking up dust.

Wind let his arm fall to his sides and propped himself up on his elbows. He stared in awe. Twilight ran over to him. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah. Thanks, Twi.”

“Good. Get on your feet.”

As Twilight lifted his sword and shield again, he took a fraction of a second to pat his youngest companion on the head. He went back and started dueling with three Stalfos at once. Wind got up, shaken but unhurt. He raised his weapons again and charged after Twilight.

Hyrule felled another one of the skeletal monsters with a sword beam. “Hey, if anyone has some special trick to help us out, this might be the time!”

Four realized that it may be time to bring in his other selves. Sky was nearest him. Four shouted over, “Sky! Cover me!”

When he saw Sky rushing over, Four held his sword aloft, pointing at what would be the sky had they been outdoors. A blinding light flashed. After the dim light of the cave, it shocked the Links and Stalfos alike. When it faded, four Links stood where one just had. They settled into perfect formation, moving in unison as if reading each other’s thoughts. Over the din of the battle, the others swore they could hear colors being shouted out.

The red and blue fragments paired together, as did the green and violet fragments. Each pair ganged up on a Stalfos, pushing them together. With a chorus of “HYAAH!” the four identical heroes moved in uncanny congruence as they slashed apart the monsters. They began to repeat this process over and over, tearing through the enemy ranks.

Sky whistled. “I’m still surprised they can coordinate that well.”

The other heroes and Stalfos alike snapped out of their momentary shock and went back to fighting each other. An idea struck Legend. “Our boomerangs! Everyone, form up!” He, Time, Warriors, Twilight, Wind, and Hyrule drew their boomerangs and threw them out into the crowd of monsters. Six twirling weapons knocked heads clean off the Stalfos’ shoulders, with Twilight’s Gale Boomerang dragging the skulls into a whirlwind. The gust gathered the monsters’ bones with each of them it struck. In their one throw, the six heroes defeated at least thirty of their foes.

“Woo hoo!” Wind exclaimed. “You see that?!”

Time did indeed see that. He spared a second to look at his companions. They had come far in their journey together. When Dark Link first brought the young heroes, they could barely coordinate a tag-team. Now they could take down dozens of monsters with just one attack. He was proud of them all, even himself. _If only they could stop bickering_ , he mused.

Now only forty or so Stalfos remained standing. Sky had his own ingenious strategy come to him. “Twilight!” he yelled. “Follow my lead!”

Sky drew his whip. Aiming carefully at a Stalfos, he swung the rope-like weapon. Its sticky end latched onto the Stalfos’ head. With a yank on the whip, Sky ripped the monster’s head off and started to swing it, buffeting its comrades with its own head.

Twilight grinned. Sky hadn’t made the perfect analogy, but he knew what he was supposed to do. He looked around at his companions. _The Fours and Wind might make this,_ he thought, _but I don’t want to take any chances…_ “EVERYONE! DOWN!”

They were confused but dropped to the ground anyway. Twilight reached into his pouch and took out his massive ball and chain. He started spinning and building up momentum. It only took him a few seconds to get the iron ball whipping around the cave at full speed. Stalfos after Stalfos had their bones destroyed as soon as they were hit.

Then there were twelve. One monster per one hero. The Stalfos realized they were now at a serious advantage. The Link’s stood together, shields leveled, and swords raised. Warriors looked around and smiled. “So, what? Are we doing this one by one? Or some special technique? I haven’t had the chance to—”

“No need for theatrics, Captain.” Time said. “Let’s do this nice and simple.”

In the flickering light of their lanterns dancing on the damp cave walls, the one-eyed warrior could see the carnage. Ninety-some Stalfos lay defeated. Some simply missing heads, some whose only trace of ever existing is fragments of bones scattered on the ground. Twelve young heroes stood together and faced impossible odds. Now able to fight these monsters one-on-one, Time had no doubt they could do this. He closed his good eye slightly longer than a standard blink, smiled, and fixed his gaze on the monster ahead of him.

“Sic ‘em.”


	3. The Cave, But Again

When the Stalfos all laid shattered on the cave floor, the Four Swords glowed again, and the split hero became one again. He promptly collapsed. His companions flocked to him, worry written in all their faces. Warriors waved them off and crouched at their fallen comrade’s side. He put his head to Four’s chest.

The others stared on in silence, waiting and hoping. One excruciatingly long second ticked by. Two. Three. Warriors looked up and smiled. “He’s fine. Down but not out.”

Seven collective sighs. Twilight stowed his own weapons and picked Four up. He lifted the shortest hero into a piggyback position. “Could someone pick up his weapons?” he asked the group. “We don’t want to lose them.”

Legend grabbed Four’s sword and shield and tucked them into his pouch. Wild looked at his own battered shield and winced. When no one was looking, he grabbed one of the Stalfos’ discarded shields. It was rusty, dented, and not at all designed with a Hylian’s physique in mind. He decided that problem could wait.

The heroes continued through the cave. They were silent for a little while until Legend piped up again. “And you’re _sure_ this is the way?”

“For the last time, veteran,” Wild groaned. “If I wasn’t sure, we would have turned tail the moment the Stalfos appeared. I trust my map.”

“You keep saying that, but it’s led us straight into monsters one too many times.”

Sky strode beside Wild and saw him frown in the dim blue light of the Slate. “Hey,” he put his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Don’t listen to him. That thing is our best shot at not getting hopelessly lost, and he knows it.”

“Besides, ‘turned tail?’” Legend went on. “Aren’t we supposed to be courageous heroes? Why not fight?”

Time sighed. He had had enough. “We can’t afford to not pick our fights. Sometimes it takes more courage to run than stay and fight.”

That shut Legend up. Wind frowned. _Wait, that doesn’t make sense,_ he thought. He spoke his mind. “Wait, that doesn’t make sense.”

The one-eyed hero chuckled. “It does, trust me.”

The young heroes walked for another hour. The end of the cave was nowhere in sight. It kept winding on, lantern light playing off the damp walls. Legend was getting frustrated but held his tongue. Four seemed to have recovered, gently snoring on Twilight’s shoulder. Hyrule sidled up next to them. “Hey rancher, he seems better now. Aren’t you getting tired yourself? I’m sure he could walk on his own.”

The laden hero looked straight ahead. “It’s alright, let him rest. If he tries to pull that stunt again soon, he’ll need it.”

“Yeah. With how tired out he gets with that, it’s no wonder he doesn’t use it much.”

“It could also be that if he uses it often enough, he’s afraid we’ll start depending on it. He probably doesn’t want to pressure of choosing when to use it.”

Hyrule nodded. He glanced ahead to Wild, still in the lead Sky. They slowed, having reached a fork in the cave. The blue light flickered as Wild rapidly tapped his Slate’s screen and shook it. “Come on, come on… don’t do this, not now of all times.”

His grumbling was a tad louder than he had intended. He noticed the silence behind him. The footsteps halted. He slowly turned around. His friends were staring at him. Most looked confused. Legend looked more than perturbed. “Oh, what now? ‘Don’t do this?’ Don’t do what?”

“Uhhh…” Wild stalled, embarrassment creeping across his face. “Well, sometimes it… loses reception… and the map stops… um… working.”

The pale blue light emitting from the Sheikah Slate flickered and died off. It seemed broken. Wild tried to make the smallest movements possible as he hung it back on his belt. Wind spoke slowly and deliberately, as if piecing it together as he went: “If your map stopped working, does that mean we’re lost?”

The owner of the now useless device was silent a moment, then hung his head. “Yes.”

A collective groan rang through the cave. Sky stepped forward and turned to his companions. He drew the Master Sword from its scabbard and rested the flat of the blade on his offhand. “Okay, let’s not bite our dear chef’s head off yet.”

Wild shuffled his feet.

“I have an idea,” Sky continued. “Maybe my sword can lead us out. It used to be able to guide me to things I was looking for.”

Hyrule eyed the Master Sword skeptically. The lanterns’ orange light bounced off the blade, which always seemed to shine brighter than everything around it. “You’ve never mentioned this before.”

“Only because I thought that didn’t work anymore. Now that we really need it, it just might.”

The Goddess’s Chosen Hero tapped the hilt of his sword gently and held it close to his face. “Hey, Fi?" he whispered. "You there? We need you.”

Nothing. He waited a few seconds. “Please?”

A soft tune resonated from the sword and a faint light shone from its blade. Sky smiled warmly. “Hey there, friend. I missed you.”

Turning back to the fork in their path, Sky held the Master Sword at arm’s length and pointed it at one of their options. No reaction. He pointed it at the other. A pulse reverberated through the sword down into his hand. His smile spread from cheek to cheek. “This way,” he said, motioning for the others to follow. “Let’s go!”

The rest of the trek was quiet and uneventful. A few Keese dropped down in front of the party, but Sky dispatched them quickly as they came. In what seemed like no time at all, the heroes spotted light at the end of the tunnel. The Master Sword’s light dimmed once again. “Thank you,” Sky whispered to his sword as he eased it back into its scabbard.

Wind ran up ahead to the opening. His face lit up. He turned back to his friends and pointed outward. “Guys! Hurry, look!”

The others ran to meet him, drawing their weapons in case they had stumbled into yet another ambush. “Wind!” Warriors called. “What’s…”

His words caught in his throat as he took in the scene. The sun blazed in a crystal-clear sky, blinding the Links for a moment. Four started to stir on Twilight’s shoulders; the latter set the former down on the soft sand. A vast, glimmering ocean stretched out before them. Seagulls squawked overhead, complimenting the gentle _woooosh_ of the waves washing to and fro. After the dim, damp, dreary cave, it was a sight to behold.

The Hero of the Winds beamed, taking it all in. The gentle breeze blew through his hair, shifting it softly across his face. He kicked off his boots and dug his toes into the fine sand. He stood with his back to his companions, unable to turn from the sight. Had he been facing them, they would have seen wide eyes and the biggest smile they had ever seen on his face. He took a deep draw of salty air.

“ _Ahhh…”_ he exhaled. “Isn’t it beautiful?"


	4. Sand and Salt

“Where are we?” Four managed through a yawn. “Last I remembered…”

“Shhh…” Sky whispered. He was crouched beside Four. He pointed ahead into what looked like a great white blur. “Don’t ruin his moment.”

Four squinted into the blinding light. Gradually, the image cleared. He gasped as he realized his surroundings. He tried to stand to get a better look but found his limbs heavy as lead. He fell back in the sand. “Let me ask again,” he said in a whisper this time. “Where are we?”

The sun beat down on the young heroes. Seagulls and the rush of waves filled their ears, and Four could make out some laughing ahead. He turned his gaze toward it and found the Wind stripping down to his undergarments, dashing towards the vast ocean ahead of them.

“For starters,” Twilight began, glancing down at Four. “We made it out of that damned cave. The Stalfos were no match for us once you pulled that fancy move of yours.”

It started to come back to the shortest hero. “Oh, right. Well, that explains the headache.”

“By the way,” Legend started, “I don’t think you’ve ever explained how that sword of yours works.”

Time put one hand on Legend’s shoulder. “Give him a moment,” he said with a smile. He cocked his head toward the glittering ocean. “Give us all a moment. I think we earned it.”

At this point, Wind was well into the water, jumping into the waves and letting them batter him around. His laughing between gulps of air carried over to the rest of them. Wild began undoing his cloak and baldric. The others looked at him. “What?” he asked. “The old man’s right. We earned a moment.”

They shared a collective chuckle and began following Wild’s lead. Four was getting his energy back, so he stood and started undressing himself. With a jolt, he realized his sword and shield were missing. “Wait!” he called. “Where are my weapons?!”

Legend, trying to slide off his gold bracelet, turned and ran backwards. “In my pouch, don’t worry about it!” he yelled back

Four grinned and ran in after his friends. They had taken good care of him while he was out. _There’s something else, though,_ he thought to himself. _Who carried me out?_ The water around his ankles splashed him as he ran, breaking him out of his thoughts. _You know_ , _that can all wait._

Wind stuck his left hand out at arm’s length and buried it an inch under the water. He dashed as fast as his water-weighted legs could carry him, straight at his oncoming friends. If any of them sensed what was coming next, they didn’t show it.

Right as he reached them all, he turned on his heel and rapidly spun, again, and again, and again. His hand carried water up into the air and buffeted the band of heroes. _Thanks, Orca. Gotta love the Great Spin Attack,_ Wind thought. He laughed wildly as he turned and turned. He was getting dizzy, and he knew he had it coming to him when he stopped.

Wind slowed and stumbled face-first into the surf. He felt a hand plunge into the water next to him and grabbed it. He opened his eyes to find Twilight pulling him to his feet. He spoke softly, “Are you okay?”

The young sailor smiled; Twilight had said the same thing to him after saving him from one of the Stalfos. “Yeah,” he replied as he shook salty water out of his hair.

“Good.” Twilight said. Wind felt his hand being gripped harder. “Now I don’t feel bad about this.”

Wind didn’t even have time to say “uh oh” before he felt himself being whipped through the water. It occurred to him after several revolutions that maybe Twilight knew a Great Spin Attack himself.

Twilight let go of Wind’s hand, and the youngest Link was sent flying through the air. “AAAAAHHHHH!!” he cried before plunging back into the water. He took a moment to enjoy feeling the ocean envelope him, then popped his head out. “Hey Twi! Good one!”

There was silence between the heroes for a heartbeat. As if on cue, they all erupted into hearty laughter. Determined to one-up the first strikes, each Link tried their hand at attacking for fun for once. Sky unleased a flurry of quick, precise jabs at the water’s surface. The salty stuff hit the Links right in their faces. They recoiled, and some cried out.

Those of them blinded by the salt heard someone move up from behind them. “Sky, that was amazing!” they heard Wind shout. He had run back from where he had been thrown. Warriors shook his head to clear it, then stared straight at Sky. Sky gulped. Hitting the most prideful of them with that sort of direct attack may have been a mistake. What happened next, Sky could barely track.

Warriors moved deliberately, as if executing a combo attack he had done many times. One by one, splashes from hooks, jabs, forehands and backhands bombarded Sky. A lull in the attacks allowed him to open his eyes and look at his opponent. Only his fellow knight wasn’t there. _Oh no…_ he thought as he looked up. Warriors was hurtling downward in as perfect a ball as a Hylian can form. He hit the water.

A majestic tidal wave pulsed out from the epicenter. It washed over all of them with the force of a bomb flower. Warriors slowly and dramatically stood up, put his fists on his waist, and flashed a grin at his fallen comrades; Sky looked particularly dazed. “Come on, boys!” He taunted. “Is _that_ all it takes to fell the legendary heroes of Hyrule?”

As it happens, it wasn’t. Legend, Four, Hyrule, and Wild exchanged a nod and began charging Warriors. Sky recovered and followed them. Sensing he was suddenly out of his league, the captain put his arms over his face and shut his eyes hard. _No more salt in these eyes, no way_ , he decided. No attack came. A couple seconds passed. He lowered his defenses, about to taunt his companions again. Unfortunately, they were already only a meter from him, ready to splash.

The look of surprise and desperation on Warriors’ face made Wind burst out laughing. The five allies hit Warriors with everything they had, which ultimately led to them hitting each other, too. Water can be that way sometimes. Time, Wind, and Twilight looked at the bedlam in awe. The latter two jumped back into the fray, ready to dish out their best.

Time found himself gazing at his companions again. A few hours earlier, they were deep in a fight for their lives, outnumbered ten-to-one. Now they were all having fun in a beautiful ocean, letting their stress wash off them in the waves. “Alright,” he said to himself. “My turn.”

While the others were preoccupied fighting and laughing with each other, Time built up as best a sprint as he could. The water came up to just above his navel, which he decided would be just enough for what he had planned.

The one-eyed hero plunged into the surf a few yards from his friends. He swam with the grace of a Zora, twirling as he tightly circled the others. They didn’t notice what he was doing until a wall of water started to rise around them. It rose to several meters tall, and they were now gaping at the sight. That was a mistake.

The wall collapsed, slamming into them and filling their mouths and noses. They tumbled through the water for a good few seconds, carried by the torrent. Gasping for air and choking on the salty water, they stumbled back to their feet. Time stood alone and unopposed in the center of them. He had one hand on his hip, his head cocked to the side. “Guess I went a little overboard,” he chuckled.

“What in the Goddesses’ name was that?” Hyrule choked out between coughs.

Time took a moment to think on that question. He had never told his friends about the masks. His mind flashed back to a skeletal guitar jutting out of a sandy beach, to a song of heartache and pain. _Thank you, Mikau. I haven’t forgotten, even now,_ he said to himself.

“Well?” Hyrule pressed.

Time smiled, gathering in the sight of his drenched, exhausted, but happy friends. “Let’s just say you pick up on a few things if you spend enough time with Zoras.”


	5. Stars and Stories

The Hylian Champion checked his Sheikah Slate. The map function was finally working again. Their destination, a town by the name of Selgogg, was still a day’s walk away. He looked up from the slate and stared into the distance. The beach faded into rolling hills, obscuring their destination. He turned back to his companions.

Hyrule had found some driftwood washed up on the shore and started a fire with it. The orange flames complemented the purple dusk as the sun set over the waves. Wind and Twilight sat together facing the ocean. Wind was splayed out, enjoying the view that reminded him of the home he missed sorely. Twilight had his knees tucked close to his chest, hugging his shins.

The younger of them turned to the older. He was about to compliment him on his Great Spin Attack back in the water but stopped when he saw his face. An odd expression was playing across Twilight’s features. Was it sadness? Contemplation? Regret? Wind couldn’t tell but decided against asking. It was probably better, he reasoned, to let his friend be.

Wild strode back to the fire. Legend looked up at him, opening his mouth as if about to say something. Wild shot him a glare, then spoke. “Before you ask me rudely, I’ll just say it. The town is a day’s walk away. Once we leave this beach, it’ll be hills for a few hours, a stretch of thick forest, then lighter woods to finish it off. If we don’t hit any snags, we’ll be there by sundown.”

A general murmur of acknowledgment passed around the circle. Wild sat down between Four and Warriors and lowered his head. He felt awful for letting his friends down in the cave. “Hey,” he began. “I’m sorry about back there. I didn’t think that would happen.”

No one spoke for a moment. Warriors broke the silence first. “Don’t let it bother you. Luckily, lover boy over here kept a cool head and was able to guide us out. Just warn us when that might happen again. It always pays to have a contingency.”

“Wait a moment,” Sky said. “What do you mean ‘if we don’t hit any snags?’”

Wild sighed. “There may or may not be enemy camps in that dense forest. My map can’t say for sure. I’d say we’re well-prepared for a fight, though. How’s our arrow count?”

Legend shuffled through his pouch. “Forty-two. We’re going to want to stock up when we hit that town. You sure _your_ weapons are battle-ready?”

He was referring to the chipped sword and dented Stalfos shield lying by Wild’s pouch. He didn’t need to ask to know that the fight damaged his old shield was beyond repair. Wild wasn’t very selective about the weapons he used. “Yes,” Wild said with a very slight edge to his voice. “They’ll be fine.”

“So, monsters,” Warriors added quickly to dispel the tension. “What are we looking at?”

“I can’t tell. Could be Moblins, Bokoblins, who knows? At least this time we’re walking through the woods during the day. I’ve had enough fights in the dark for a while.”

“Hm. Well, we’ll just have to be on full alert. Which also means we should get some shuteye.”

Wind patted Twilight on the shoulder, got up, and strolled over to the fire. “Hang on,” he said. “I still want to know about Four’s power.”

Four sat up straighter. “Well, it’s my sword. It was gifted to the Hylians by the Minish race. It was originally called the Picori Blade. The sorcerer Vaati shattered it when he unleashed evil upon Hyrule. I journeyed the kingdom finding four sacred elements. With the help of the Minish, I forged it into this.”

He raised his sword to let firelight play off the blade. Like Sky’s Master Sword, it somehow seemed to reflect light brighter than anything else around it. “The Four Sword,” the young smithy continued. “The elements gave it the power to split me into four people. They’re fragments, not copies. My personality splits between them. We used to argue a lot, but now we can fight in perfect unison.”

Sky, Wind, and Legend exchanged glances. They had all gone through a similar process to make their swords. They used sacred flames, pure metals, and dwarven blacksmiths and a great fairy, respectively. It occurred to them that there seemed to be a pattern.

A moment of silence passed. Hyrule scanned the group. “So, that being said, anyone else have any powers they want to elaborate on?”

Time froze. He still hadn’t told the others about the masks he acquired in Termina. He couldn’t have stopped Majora’s Mask without them, but he hated wearing them with a passion. Wearing a dead person’s soul had always made him feel sick. The Fierce Deity’s Mask terrified him. Its power was so great that he feared if he ever put it on again, he might not want to take it off.

Wind perked up. “You know that my sword can stop time, right?”

“Yes,” Legend groaned. “How could we forget with you always telling us? It would help if you actually remembered that when we’re in combat. I seem to recall Twi needing to save your hide in the cave because you forgot. Again.”

“Geez, I get it. Don’t have to rub it in.”

“To answer your question, wanderer,” Legend said, “behold!”

He flourished his left wrist. Everyone looked at it expectantly, figuring some transformation would happen. It didn’t. “This bracelet here is a gift from my counterpart in an alternate world,” he said. “His name is Ravio. Dunno where he got the thing, but I can use it to transform myself into a painting.”

This was met by a mix of mild surprise and indifference. “What?” Legend asked. “No big reaction?”

Sky shrugged. “Well, that sounds cool and all, but how useful can it really be?”

Legend snorted and cocked an eyebrow. “You’d be surprised. It’s gotten me out of many a sticky spot.”

“Why haven’t you used it around us yet, then?” Hyrule prodded.

Silence. Legend flushed and sat there a moment, then admitted, “I haven’t had a good chance to use it.”

“You probably could have used it in the cave,” Sky suggested. “We were surrounded by walls. Could’ve pulled a sneaky on the Stalfos.”

“Well, I haven’t used it for so long that I… kinda forgot about it.”

“Ah ha!” Wind burst out. “Look who’s forgetting useful powers in the middle of combat, now!”

Hyrule laughed. “You _do_ have to take it off and put it back on every time you get dressed. You’d think you would remember of it.”

“Listen!” Legend growled, crossing his arms in a huff. “I just wanted to tell… urgh, whatever.”

Six laughs rang out. Time sighed in relief. No attention had fallen on him after all. As much as he hated keeping secrets from his friends, he was still afraid they would ask him to use the masks. Worse still, if they would become afraid of him. Fortunately, that discussion could wait until another day. A day that might never come, Time hoped.

After the laughter subsided, Four remembered the question that had been nagging at him since they arrived at the beach. “Alright, so after I rejoined and fainted, Legend carried my weapons. Who carried me?”

“The rancher,” Warriors replied, pointing his chin in the direction of the ocean. “Not really a shock, is it? He picked you up as soon as I made sure you weren’t dead.”

Four felt a pang of guilt. It hadn’t occurred to him that he might have seemed worse off than just unconscious. “Oh. Thanks, Wars. I didn’t mean to give you guys a scare like that.”

Warriors shrugged as if to say _don’t worry about it_.

“But what about Twi? Is he okay? He’s been sitting there by the water since we got out.”

Time had been facing away from the water, so turned around to face his friend. Twilight hadn’t moved, still staring off into the ocean. The sun had long set; all there was to see out there were the stars and their reflections. Still facing the water, Time said to the rest of them: “It’s probably not the first time he’s carried a fallen friend on his back. Maybe he’s reliving bad memories.”

Wild bowed his head fraction and sighed. “He wouldn’t be the first.”

“I’ll check on him,” Sky volunteered, moving to stand up.

“I will,” Time interrupted. “Don’t wait on us to get some rest. If the champion’s right, we have a long day ahead of us.”

“When is it ever _not_ a long day?” Wind muttered. This got a few giggles.

With a soft grunt, Time pushed himself off the sand. He turned and strolled over to Twilight. He paused a moment to appreciate the beautiful ocean view. The breeze was getting a bit brisk. Content, he lowered himself to the ground next to his companion.

“Rancher,” Time said. “What’s wrong?”

Twilight kept staring ahead, but Time could tell his eyes were red and his cheeks damp. Time had never seen him this upset; it was a tad unnerving. “I need a minute,” he choked out, “okay?”

Time shook his head. “You’ve had plenty of minutes. What’s wrong?”

“It’s just… carrying Four out of there reminded me of something terrible that happened to me once… Right when Midna and I thought we could take on Zant, he attacked us and Midna was mortally wounded by a light spirit. She barely managed to say that she needed the princess. Zant had forced me back into my wolf form, so I ran all the way to Hyrule Castle with Midna on my back.

“I was terrified that she wouldn’t make it. It was pouring that night. By the time I reached Castletown, my fur was sopping wet. I couldn’t get into the castle through the gate, so I had to take the sewers in. Every detour, every obstacle, every monster that slowed me down… it felt like there was a clock ticking in my head, reminding me that Midna was on borrowed time.”

_I know the feeling,_ Time said to himself, not wanting to interrupt.

“Once we reached Zelda, she said that it wasn’t her duty to save Hyrule, that it was up to Midna and me. Then she took Midna’s hand in hers and…”

Twilight choked up again. He didn’t bother to wipe the fresh tears off his face. After staying silent for almost a minute, he continued. “Zelda gave her life force to Midna. By the time we realized what was happening, it was too late. Midna was screaming, begging her to stop, but before we knew it, Zelda was just… gone.

“Of course, it ended up working out for us all… mostly. But I don’t think I’ll ever forget how scared I was that night. Carrying Four wasn’t that bad. We knew he was okay, and I only needed to carry him until he woke up. But…” he trailed off.

“But,” Time offered, “the strangest things can trigger the most awful memories. Trust me, I know… I’m sorry. About what happened that night.”

With a sniffle, Twilight finally looked up at Time. Between the puffy eyes, tear-stained cheeks, and wind-disheveled hair, the young hero was an utter wreck. Time gazed into his eyes. They had a certain depth to them that he saw every time he looked in a mirror.

“Hey,” Time said softly, “come here.”

He put an arm around his friend and pulled him closer. They sat huddled there a while in silence. The only sound was the gentle surf washing to and fro ahead of them. The breeze brought a biting chill now, and Time could feel Twilight shiver against him.

Time withdrew his arm and stood up. He turned to face the fire. It was starting to die off. The Links seemed to either be asleep or falling so. Wind was snoring softly. Wild was rolled over on his side; he could have been asleep had the faint light of his Slate not been glowing. Time remembered their earlier exchange about Twilight not being the only one to relive bad memories.

Twilight stood as well, and the two heroes walked forward together. They laid down in the company of their other selves, their friends. It was a beautiful scene: nine young men circled around a dying fire on a secluded beach, starlight glittering off the ocean. As the embers cooled and flickered to darkness, so too were the Links stolen by sleep.


	6. Smoke

The early morning sun shone brightly on the nine heroes. The breeze blew through their hair and ruffled their clothes. Metal equipment clinked with every step through the rustling tall grass. Crickets unseen chirped, ringing in their ears. Wildflowers sprouted here and there; Wild stopped every so often to inspect them.

“Why do you keep doing that?” Hyrule asked.

Wild was squatting next to a group of flowers. He looked up. “You never know what kinds of things you’ll come across in the wild, what they can do for you.”

Sky took up the rear. “Yep!” he said. “Flowers can be way more helpful than you might think.”

“Hey!” Legend called back from near the front. “You said it yourself, Wild; we have a day’s hike!”

Wild sighed. Indeed, the walk across hills and through a forest would take all day. He determined that when he looked at his Sheikah Slate’s map yesterday. He pushed himself to a stand and hurried back to the front. Having the map was an important responsibility, something he would never forget after the incident yesterday in the cave.

The chill and mist of the morning were starting to burn off now. The Links had been walking for about two hours since setting off from the beach. Warriors had them get up with the sun. He reasoned that if they _did_ hit monsters like Wild said they might, they would still make it to the next village by sundown.

Warriors’ plans had rarely led the heroes wrong. On his own quest, he needed to devise military-engagement-scale tactics on the fly. The best team player by far, his coordination and wit greatly overshadowed his relative vanity and pride compared to his companions. His cool head in battle was invaluable to the group.

“Let’s put our heads together here,” said Warriors. “We don’t want to walk into an ambush later on. There’s been a tad too many of those recently for my taste.”

“You’d think we would learn,” Hyrule said with a shrug.

“Exactly! We should be learning. We’ve all been on our own adventures and saved the world multiple times, but where does that get us if we keep winding up in such danger?”

“I think I know why,” Four suggested, half-jogging to keep up with the taller of his friends. “I know this from my fragments. At first, we figured that of course four Links were better than one. If Link was an awesome swordsman hero, then four would be unstoppable.”

Wind jumped in: “Well, you all seemed pretty unstoppable to me. Those Stalfos didn’t stand a chance against you.”

“Well, that’s now. We’ve come to terms that we are fragments, not copies. Green, Red, Blue, Vio. All shards of Link. Alone, we were less than Link. When we worked together, we suddenly became more than the sum of our parts.”

“Okay, how does that help us?” Legend asked.

“Here we are,” Four replied, holding his arms out to his companions, “nine Links. We’ve saved the world, slain great evil, wielded legendary swords. Put us together and of course it would seem that nine heroes are better than one. But that makes us headstrong and cocky. If we think that we’ll make it out of every encounter fine, we won’t care.”

Time nodded. “If we want to success on this quest, we need to remember we can fail,” he said. “Over the past few weeks, we’ve grown stronger and have begun working as a true team. Our battle yesterday was proof enough of that. We’re letting it get to our heads, though.”

“Right,” Warriors said. “In that case, let’s figure something out here.”

Wind sighed. He knew the importance of plans and strategies, but playing it by ear was his specialty. He didn’t escape a fortress of monsters swordless by following the proverbial playbook.

Warriors was about to start discussing what they would do when they reached the forest when a scent caught his nose. Something burnt and ashy. He looked up. “I… guys?”

Plumes of thick, dark gray smoke were working their way up over the hills to their left. Orange-tinged embers floated down onto the swaying grass. The Links readied their weapons as they began sprinting up the nearest hill. “Champion!” Sky called. “Is there anything up there?”

Wild took out his Sheikah Slate and opened the map. His eyes darted across the screen. “No, it doesn’t look like it!” he yelled back. “Just more hills!”

“That’s odd,” Time muttered to himself. He shouted out: “Keep your guards up; we don’t know what we’re deali—”

His words caught in his throat as they crossed over the top of the hill and got a good view of the land. It was unbelievable, and Time had seen many unbelievable things. There was nothing burning. There was nothing at all. Just more hills, more plains. Smoke still billowed upward, with no source in sight. Time could swear he could hear screams and shouts faintly but had no idea where it was coming from. He spared a glance at his companions.

Sky, Wind, Warriors, Wild, and Hyrule looked simultaneously concerned and confused. Flabbergasted, really. They had never seen anything like it and couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Four, Legend, and Twilight were frowning. Time suspected they were thinking along the lines he was. He started rummaging in his pouch.

“What in the Goddesses’ name is going on?” Sky breathed. “There’s smoke, but nothing is burning.”

“What’s going on,” Time explained, “is likely that there’s something we can’t see by ourselves. Sometimes there are things hidden from our eyes that we can only see with some… let’s say ‘external help.’”

Twilight’s long, pointed ears pricked up. “Like a wolf’s heightened senses.”

“Or a Moon Pearl,” Four and Legend said in unison. They glanced at each other with raised eyebrows. Clearly, neither knew the other had used a Moon Pearl before.

Time found what he was looking for. He held up his Lens of Truth. “Or this.”

He held it in front of his remaining eye. The moment the Lens passed into his line of vision, he saw what was truly happening. Indeed, there was a small town set ablaze. Wooden walls and roofs burned up, churning out the thick smoke the Links had seen from afar. Now he could see who was screaming.

“Well?” Wind asked. “What is it?”

Time stared at the scene. “There’s a town burning down there. The people need help.”

“How do we save people we can’t see?” Wild sounded skeptical, anxiety creeping into his voice.

“Maybe I can help,” Four said as he pulled a Moon Pearl out of his pouch. “I was hoping I was never going to need these again.”

Before the others got a good chance to look at the Pearl, he threw it further down the hill, closer to the smoke from a settlement he couldn’t see. “Let’s go! Follow me!”

He took off at a sprint, drawing the Four Sword and raising the shield his Zelda gifted him. Confused but determined, his companions ran after him. The moment the Pearl hit the swaying grass, it shattered, leaving in its place a circle a meter across. Bright blue light shot up out of it, higher than Time was tall. “What is that thing?” Wind yelled as they ran.

“A portal!” Four shouted back. “It’ll bring us into the world that village is in!”

Four stepped into the portal and disappeared. The others dashed in after him. Hyrule brought up the rear and was the last to take the portal. He arrived to find the brightest and fiercest fire he had ever seen. His friends were standing there a few meters ahead, gaping at the scene.

Warriors’ mind raced, putting together their rescue plan. The factors ran through his head: Dozens of the small homes nearly too burnt to save, at least two or three people per home, nine Links, four with alternate-world experience, one with superspeed, one with time-stop, one part-wolf, one capable of splitting into four…

_We could cover more ground with three extra Links,_ Warriors thought, _but using the Four Sword two days in a row could be too much for him._

“Alright,” he turned and said to the others. Any cockiness was gone from his voice, replaced by solemn determination. “Partner up. Sky with Smith. Twi with Wind. Time with Hyrule. Wild with me. Veteran, your Pegasus Boots’ speed will make you better alone.”

Legend nodded.

Warriors continued: “Four, your sword’s power would be helpful to cover more ground, but we’ll need you at full strength later. Do not split. Got it?”

Four waited a moment as if contemplating arguing. Reasoning that using his sword twice in as many days could seriously hurt him, he nodded as well.

“Stick with your partner and take each house one by one. Find any survivors and send them back to the portal. Children, lame, and elderly take priority. The portal should lead them to safety. Don’t bother putting the fires out. It’s too late to save this place. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Everyone understand?”

A collective grunt of assent resounded among the Links. “Right then,” Warriors said, ice in his voice, “let’s go!”

The nine young-but-seasoned heroes took off at a sprint, Legend quickly gaining a lead. Only Twilight, Time, Wild, and Wind had borne witness to any large fire, but none as big as this. Still, they charged on. These people needed saving, and that was exactly what the Links intended to do.


	7. Fire

Fire. A gift from Din, the Golden Goddess of Power. It gives life and takes it. It creates and destroys. This fire, however, was the latter on both counts. An entire small town was set ablaze, the screams and shouts of the villagers nearly drowned out by the sound of the blaze itself. Buildings were collapsing into their own infernos, sending jets of flames into the smoke-hidden sky. The Hero of Warriors split the Links into pairs to cover more ground. This was an ambitious rescue mission, and they knew they couldn’t possibly save everyone.

This is the hell where the Links found themselves today.

…

The Hero of Legend hadn’t used his Pegasus Boots in a very long time. He remembered this as his sprint reached peak speed; it took more effort than he anticipated to not trip and bury his face in the scorched dirt. _Need to get myself under control_ , he told himself. _These people need me._

Though Legend and his companions charged into the village at the same time, his boots soon brought him into the lead. Leaving them behind as Warriors told him to, he rushed to the far end of the settlement. He chose a building at random and threw open the door.

Sweltering heat hit him with the force of a bomb, followed by smoke to match. Squinting and coughing, he entered. It seemed to be a tavern. A long counter ran the length of one wall with shelves of bottles and a closed door behind it. Several round tables and stools lay in disarray across the floor. Shards of glass littered the place. Everything flammable was either burning or about to.

“Hello?” he called, struggling to keep his voice both calm and urgent. “Is anybody in here?”

No reply. He swung his legs over the bar and tried to open the door. It was jammed shut. “Damn it,” he swore. He shoulder-bashed it but it didn’t budge. He rummaged in his pouch a moment then pulled out his hammer. He raised it and swung. It hit its target dead-center. With a satisfying _CRACK!!_ the now-splintered door fell to the ground.

Putting away his hammer, Legend entered the new room. Shelves upon shelves of liquor bottles and barrels filled the room. Liquor. Liquor has alcohol. Alcohol can burn. The place could be about to explode. “Oh no,” he breathed. “Hey! Is there anyone here?!”

A barely audible whimper came from the far corner of the room. Legend whipped his head to the source. Several wooden beams and shelves were piled there, on fire like nearly everything else. In a flash, he had slipped on his power gloves and was prying the detritus from its place.

After nearly a minute’s work, he cleared the debris. A small man was huddled in the corner. Hair and clothes singed, skin black with soot, but very much alive and well, he looked up at Legend with tears in his eyes. The veteran hero wasted no time in picking up the man and rushing out of the building. In the relative safety of the street, he put him down.

“Is there anyone else in there?”

The man shook his head

“Are you hurt?

He shook his head again.

“Good,” Legend. He pointed in the direction of the portal Four had opened. “Run until you see a glowing circle on the ground. Step in it and it’ll take you to safety.”

The man hesitated, clearly still in shock. “Go!” Legend shouted, jabbing his finger back to the portal. “Now!”

He looked after the man a moment, watching him run to safety. Coughing from all the smoke, he turned back to the tavern just in time to see it explode. _Shame,_ Legend mused, _I could go for a drink._ He turned to another building. _Here we go again._

…

Twilight dashed down a side street. He recognized the scent of children and followed it. Blazing buildings seemed to crowd around him on all sides, but he ran on. The shackle set above his front paw was heavy, but he had never had the heart to take it off. Every so often, a beam or sign would fall just overhead. Twilight would bark and Wind, riding on his back, would activate the Phantom Sword and freeze time just long enough to get past the hazard before it crushed them.

An upcoming road led out to the side. The scent wafted from there. Twilight took the tight corner, nearly unseating Wind. “Watch it!” the youngest hero grunted. Twilight growled back, as if to say _hey, I’m trying here._

There at the end of the road was the house they were looking for. Reaching the door, Wind hopped to his feet and the wolf became Hylian again. Wind inspected the house. It didn’t seem to be too damaged yet. He looked over to his partner. “Twi, you sure this is the one?”

“Positive.”

“Alrighty. Let’s go.”

The door was jammed. Not bothering to find some fancy solution, Twilight kicked hard. The door blew off its hinges. He ran in, Wind on his heels. The former had put away his weapons, afraid they would scare the children. The latter kept his out. His sword had a valuable power, and a shield might be helpful in a burning building with falling debris. They took a quick look at the main room.

The furniture was already scorched, leaving husks of a dining room set, sofa, cushioned rocking chair, child’s rocking horse, cabinets, and other amenities. Fine china lay shattered below what used to be their cabinet. The homeowners were clearly rather wealthy. There was no sign of the children Twilight smelled. Several doors led out into other rooms. Twilight started for one of them. “Split up,” he ordered.

“Whatever you say, boss,” Wind replied, heading for another door.

Twilight shook his head. He hated being considered a leader, but he supposed it came naturally to him. Maybe it came from growing up around younger children. Or was it being born with the Triforce of Courage? He neither knew nor cared. He hurried to the door he chose and tried the knob. This one was not jammed.

He shoved the door open, finding stairs that led up into a hallway. The smoke was even heavier here. Seven doors lay ahead: three on either side, one at the end. _I don’t have time for this_ , he thought. He transformed to use his heightened wolf senses. Every room had traces of the children’s scent. He transformed again and called out, “Hey! I’m— _cough_ —here to save you! Come on out!”

There was no reply. “Damn.” he cursed. _Look’s like we’re doing this the hard way._ He picked a door and opened it. The room was a mess. The walls were covered in soot, the closed windows bottling up the smoke. A bed was smoldering in one corner and a chest of drawers in another. No children in sight.

Twilight checked the next door. This room was more damaged than the other, bits of ceiling falling to the floor. Active flames licked the blackened walls. Whatever furniture was there was unrecognizable. Still, no one was inside. The next four rooms bore similar results.

When he finally got to the seventh door, he found it was sealed shut. He kicked the door, but it didn’t work this time. He drew his shield, backed up, charged forward, and full-on tackled the door. It splintered and flew off its hinges into the room. Twilight picked up a new smell mingling with the children’s. It was rancid. His eyes swept the room, and his stomach lurched.

The children were dead. The fire took them hours ago, by the looks of them. They were huddled together. What appeared to be three boys and a girl sat in a corner, burnt, blackened and deformed. An image of Talo, Malo, Beth, and Colin flashed in Twilight’s mind. Now realizing the source of the sour scent, he threw up a little in his mouth. Was it the smoke or emotions that made him blink away tears as he turned from the horror? He didn’t have the time to decide.

…

Meanwhile, Wind was having his own problems. The first floor was in worse shape than the second. Beams, floorboards from upstairs, and light fixtures kept falling around him. His decision to keep his weapons equipped was a smart one. “Hey!” he shouted. “Is there— _hrrk_ ” he grunted as his shield blocked a chunk of wood from dropping on his head. “Is there anybody in here?!”

He had called this out repeatedly for several minutes as he wove his way through the high-ceilinged rooms. He had yet to get a reply. The intense heat and effort of defending himself was starting to really tire him out. Unfortunately, his sword’s time-stop was just as tiring to use as manually preventing being squashed like a bug. He silently wished he still had Ciela to help him.

Wind spotted the last door he hadn’t checked. He tried the handle, but it was jammed and burning hot. Mirroring Twilight, he kicked at the door. He yelped in pain from the door _not_ opening. _Guess I’m not as strong as him…_ he thought. He looked closer at the door. _Oh. It opens this way. Silly._

He reached in his pouch and brought out his grappling hook. He latched the claw onto the doorknob, yanked on the rope, and the door burst open. The sudden lack of resistance caused him to fall backward onto the floor. Shaking his head to clear it, he spotted another falling lamp about to crush him. With a roll to the side, he just barely cleared it. “When the old man says it’s gonna be a long day,” he muttered, “it’s gonna be a long day.”

Remembering the door was now open, Wind hurried to his feet and went through it. He took in the sight. He had really hoped there was someone to save in there. Anything to make all the effort worth it. Lo and behold, there was nothing in this small closet but a few musty coats and boots. “You have got to kidding me,” he groaned.

Disappointed and tired, he ran out of the house and back onto the narrow road. Twilight emerged from the flaming wreck a few seconds later. He looked thoroughly disturbed. “No survivors,” he said just loud enough for Wind to hear over the din. “You?”

“Na-da,” the sailor replied.

The rancher grimaced but said nothing.

Wind pointed to another nearby house intact enough that there might be survivors. “Let’s try there.”

Twilight nodded and the two broke into a run towards the house.

“Twi?”

“Yeah?”

“What started this fire?”

“That’s a good question. It’s been eating at me," Twilight said as they reached the door. “Ready up, we’re going in.”

…

“You’re good at setting fires, right?” Warriors asked, running between the burning houses.

“Yes,” Wild answered, side by side with his partner.

“How do you put them out?”

“I don’t.”

“I see.”

“Besides, you said yourself that we’re trying to save the people, not the buildings.”

“Fair point,” Warriors admitted. “How many people have we saved?”

“You know my memory’s a joke, Captain” Wild quipped. He paused. “…maybe a dozen?”

“For a settlement this size and us being here for what, an hour? You’d think we would have more.”

“We still have the others doing their bit, but this seems futile. For every building we search, three more just collapse.”

Warriors frowned. “That does seem to be a problem.”

“How did this thing start, anyway? Village-destroying fires don’t just pop out of nowhere.”

“You’re thinking arson?”

“Maybe. Some houses are more damaged than others, but from I can tell, the entire town is burnt about evenly.”

Warriors’ eyes widened, catching on to his partner’s meaning. “There’s no epicenter.”

Wild nodded. “If it were an accident, one point would be the most damaged. There’s got to be a reason why. I suspect foul play.”

“Good point. How could someone ignite the whole village at once, though?”

“I’m thinking it’s more of a some _thing_ than a some _one_.”

“A monster?”

“Or at least some evil force.”

“Arson usually isn’t up there on a monster’s list of go-to ways to terrorize people. Maybe a Wizzrobe?”

“A Wizzrobe would have been laughing and dancing around, waiting to be killed,” Wild pointed out.

“True.”

“Don’t forget there’s something seriously wrong with this place. We couldn’t see it at first. It’s not even on my map.”

“So, we don’t rule anything out.”

“Exactly.”

The two knights stayed silent for a while. They rushed into another semi-intact building and found no one to save. Any villagers able to run away had clearly done so already. This was all very disheartening.

“I’m getting a really bad feeling about this place,” Wild said finally.

“Me too, and if I know our companions,” Warriors replied, “we all are.”


	8. Inferno

Four heard hacking behind him. He stopped running and turned around. Sky had his hands on his knees, coughing madly. Nearly two hours into the rescue, the smoke was really taking its toll on him. Four ran back and put his hand on his partner’s back. “You okay?”

“Sure, when— _cough_ —we get out of— _cough_ —here!”

“I’m not sure that will be much longer,” Four said, looking up at their surroundings. “Look.”

Sky followed his gaze. A good deal of the buildings around them had already collapsed into their own flames. They were running out of places to look for survivors. All this might be over very soon. He would be glad to be rid of the place, but the number of people they’d saved was disturbingly low.

They still hadn’t gotten the chance to think about what to do once that happened. Where would all the people go? Follow the Links as refugees to the next village? Protecting dozens of weak villagers in a possibly monster-infested forest wasn’t going to be easy. Going back through the cave could be even worse, so they would have to go forward or not go at all.

When Sky’s coughs let up, Four helped him back up to a stand. “You don’t look so good,” he observed.

“Sorry,” Sky replied. “I’m ju— _cough_ —just used to really clean air. I’ll be fine. We have a job to do.”

“That we do,” Four affirmed, jerking his head in the direction of what looked like a sort of schoolhouse. “Let’s try this one.”

Sky pulled the sailcloth that his Zelda gave him up over his nose and took point. The front door was left ajar, so they wasted no time getting inside. They were standing in a hallway with two doors on the left and two on the right. The entire place looked about to collapse. Sky and Four exchanged a knowing glance, nodded, and parted ways.

Four entered the first room on the right. Overturned desks littered the floor. Glass shards and burnt quills indicated where ink wells had fallen and shattered. The bookcases lining the walls were already burnt to a crisp; the books were perfect kindling. He blinked sweat from his eyes; his headband was already thoroughly soaked. “Hello?!” he called. “Is anyone here?!”

Nothing. Four shook his head and went back to the hall. He ran over to the next door on his side. The same scene as before played out. He exited the room to check on Sky. Just as he got to the room Sky had entered, the roof above the door collapsed in flames. The door was blocked. “Sky!” Four yelled. “Are you okay?!”

The shortest hero waited a moment, but no reply came. “Sky! Hey! You okay?!” he tried again, panic creeping into his voice.

Once again, no response. His typically solid composure was wearing thin. He wrung his hands through his hair. “Oh no, no no no no no. Sky, come on, talk to me!”

Four remembered the second door on this side of the hall. Before relief could kick in, this door collapsed as well. Desperate, he drew his Gust Jar from his pouch and tried to blow out the flames on the wood blocking the doors. The moment they were extinguished, they came back stronger. It was the first time he considered that this fire was unnatural. The structure seemed on the cusp of utter destruction. There was nothing he could do for his partner.

He ran outside the schoolhouse, eyes wildly darting around for any of his companions. The smoke was so heavy now that he could barely see in front of him. Now he was really panicking. “Anybody!” he called as loud as he could. “Somebody, help!”

The smoke was filling his lungs and he began to cough heavily. “Please, help! Any— _cough_ —anyone!”

No one called back. No one came dashing out of the smoke. No one was going to help. Four had to decide whether to stay by the schoolhouse or run for help. He was afraid it might go down, but he also feared that he wouldn’t be able to find anyone or even find his way back. His friend was in there, but he was helpless to save him. He just stood there in manic indecision. _Oh Goddesses, what do I do?_

…

Sky left Four’s side, entering the first room on the left. A thoroughly destroyed classroom stared him in the face. He didn’t know it, but it was almost identical to the one Four was currently in. He noticed another closed door on the far side of the room _. Probably some sort of closet_ , he thought. _May as well._

Still covering his nose and mouth with his sail, he crossed the room to the door and tried to open it. Jammed. _Oh, naturally_ , he silently bemoaned. He drew his sword and backed up just far enough that its point would fit in the doorframe, but not any farther. In four deft swipes, the Master Sword sliced through the frame. The door, now cut free, fell forward with a clatter.

A little girl was curled in the fetal position against the wall. Sky rushed forward and knelt in front of her. He lowered the sail. “Hey there,” he said in a soothing tone. “My name is Link, and I’m going to get you out of here.”

The girl looked up at him. Her wide, teary eyes were filled with fear and shock. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to have any burns on her. Sky sighed in relief. As much as he wanted to make all this effort worth it, he hated knowing she had trapped here for Hylia knows how long.

“What’s your name?” Sky asked gently.

Her answer came as a choked whisper: “Mira.”

“Okay, Mira. Can you stand?”

She nodded.

“Good.”

The girl pushed herself to a stand. She was so young she was barely half his height. Sky sheathed his sword, unhooked the sail from around his neck, and held it out to her. “Hold this up to your face; it’ll keep the smoke out. Stay close to me, understand?”

She nodded again.

Sky gave the warmest smile he could conjure up. “Let’s get you to safety.”

He held out his hand. She took it. They left the closet and started for the door. They were almost there when the ceiling above it came crashing down. Mira shrieked. Sky’s mind raced. “Smith!” he called out, hoping beyond hope his partner heard him. “Four, are you there?!”

He was just about certain that his partner didn’t hear him. The fire was deafening. He let go of Mira’s hand, took out the Gust Bellows, and blew on the collapsed doorframe. The fires came back the moment they went out. _Damn!_ he cursed to himself to spare the little girl hearing.

He took another look around the room. He spotted a door that likely led into the neighboring room. It was completely consumed in flames. He wisely decided that wouldn’t work. The walls were all aflame, so even if he could cut through them, it would be suicide to jump through.

Jump through? An idea struck him like a lightning bolt. He gave the room another glance. A soot-stained window was set in one wall slightly above his eye level. He grimaced. “That’ll have to do.”

The hero turned back to Mira. Her features hidden by his sail, but he could see that she was staring at him with terror in her eyes. Flames licked at the floorboards near her bare feet. A pang of guilt hit Sky. He hadn’t done a very good job rescuing her so far. _That’ll change_. _Hopefully._ He scooped her up in his arms.

“Mira,” Sky whispered in her ear. He stifled a cough. “I need you to hold on tight, now. Okay?”

Sky felt her head nod against his chest. He sprinted at full speed at the window, pivoted, and leaped back-first. He felt the glass shatter against him as he fell. The ground came up sooner than expected, knocking the wind out of his lungs. His everything ached.

He gently moved Mira off him. She seemed unhurt, still clutching his sail. All things considered, that was a miracle. It took everything he had to bring himself up to a stand. He was dizzy and confused by a voice he heard getting nearer him. His head cleared and he saw Four running at him.

“Sky!” Four exclaimed. “You’re alive!”

“Yeah, are you o—oof!"

Sky was cut off by Four practically tackling him into a hug. “Oh, thank the Goddesses, Four cried, releasing his friend. “I didn’t find anything on my side, so I went to find you. Then the ceiling collapsed, and I couldn’t get to you and—”

“Hey,” Sky interrupted, putting a hand on his rambling friend’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, _we’re_ fine.”

He gestured toward Mira, standing where they fell. Her eyes darted between the two of them. It was as if she knew their relation. Sky began, “This, my friend, is Mira. She was stuck in a closet on my side. I got her out safely. Can’t say the same for— _cough_ —myself, though.”

Sky now noticed that the entire village was just about ready to come down. Luckily for them, the now incinerating schoolhouse was on the edge of the town. “I don’t think there’s anyone— _cough_ —left to save,” he said with a new severity. “Let’s go back to the portal and find the others.”

Four nodded. Sky went to Mira and picked her up again. The two heroes ran clear of the village and into the field. The portal was dead ahead of them. None of the survivors had gone through it. Independently deciding that wasn’t important for now, the young heroes approached them.

One of the men noticed them and shouted out, “Mira!”

“Daddy!” she called back. Her voice was still hoarse.

Sky set Mira down and she ran to her father. They embraced, sobbing into each other’s shoulders. It was a painful but beautiful sight, as if the Goddesses were shining their divine light on them.

Four nudged Sky’s hip. “See that?” he said. “That’s what we’re doing all this for. All our pain, all our suffering, it’s all for them. We’d better not forget that next time a map shorts out or something silly like that.”

Sky smiled. He was about to reply when the other Links started emerging out of the fire themselves. Legend came first. He was running so fast that he nearly faceplanted when he stopped. Next up came Twilight and Wind, then Warriors and Wild.

They all looked around and spotted each other. Beaming, they ran to each other and hugged. After that ordeal, seeing each other’s sooty faces was the best sight they could think of. They began to tell each other tales of their separate adventures when Warriors noticed something was missing.

“Wait, wait. Where are Time and Hyrule?”

As if on cue, a blood-curdling scream pierced the air. It came from the direction of the village. They whipped around and tried to see its source. They saw nothing but a wall of flames. “What the hell was that?!” Legend exclaimed.

Twilight had had enough death and misery today. Still, he had to admit, “something tells me we’re going to find out very soon.”

…

Over two hours had passed since the Links entered the village. The smoke and heat had only gotten worse. Time wished he had held onto the tunic Darunia’s son had given to him. If it could resist the heat of an active volcano, it surely would have helped here. He considered using Darmani’s mask but dismissed the thought immediately. _No, only if I absolutely need to. I can take this._

Hyrule had no such thoughts. He was just hot and sweaty and took that at face value. Had he asked Time, they would have agreed that this was taking too long. Many of the villagers seemed to have fled the moment they saw the fire, yet somehow there were stragglers trapped behind flames and sealed doors.

This whole scenario troubled the one-eyed warrior. His mind was filled with questions he had no answers to. _Why is this village hidden? Why isn’t it on the Sheikah Slate map? Why is it on fire? Who started the fire? Where are they? Why did no one stop to help their trapped fellows? Why is it only us trying to save people? What in the Golden Goddesses’ names is going on here?_

“Time?” Hyrule snapped Time out of his thoughts.

The two of them were standing in a square of sorts. At first glance, it looked like they were enclosed by a towering wall of fire. At second glance, the wall just the ignited buildings on the edge of the square. Hyrule was looking around them, taking in the rampant destruction. He turned to Time. Hopelessness and fear played across his face. His arms hung limp at his sides. “What do we do?”

Time recognized that expression. It mirrored his own throughout his adventures. His friends, his home, his everything had been taken away from him at one point or another. Malon had been that one beacon of light in a world of darkness that Ganondorf didn’t even try to create. He couldn’t look Hyrule in the eye.

“Let’s rendezvous with the others,” he said after a moment. “We’ve done all we can.”

The exhausted heroes, eyes stinging and throats sore from the smoke, turned to leave the way they came. Fire had sprung up that road as well. They were trapped. “No,” Hyrule breathed, “we can’t die here. Not after all of this. We still have a job to do!”

“You’re right.”

The icy resignation in Time’s voice made Hyrule turn back to face him. The oldest of the nine was expressionless as he rummaged in his pouch. He withdrew his hand, holding a mask. To Hyrule, it looked like how the others had described Gorons. They were about to die, and this was Time’s plan?

“What good will playing dress-up do?!” the wanderer shouted, voice cracking.

Time had wanted anything but this. This was where the façade came crashing down. There was no other way. He couldn’t bear to look at his friend as he said, “I’m sorry.”

Hyrule didn’t a chance to ask, “what for?” before Time put on the mask. It closed in on him, latching to his flesh. He writhed in pain, trying his best not to cry out. It was too much. A guttural, tortured scream pierced the smoke-filled air. It was riddled with hopelessness, regret, guilt, and unfathomable agony. Hyrule had never heard anything so awful in his entire life.

A blinding light flashed, stunning Hyrule. When his vision cleared, a Goron towered over him. A jagged scar ran down its closed right eye. Hyrule barely managed to stammer “T—Time?” before being swept off his feet.

This shade of a great Goron hero brought Hyrule in close to his chest. Hyrule struggled to break free, but the grip was hard as rock. The Goron rolled itself into a jagged boulder covered in massive, razor-sharp spines. Protecting Hyrule, it rolled across the square, building speed. It showed no sign of slowing as it neared the flames. With a deafening _CRASH!!_ it broke its way through rows and rows buildings.

Free of the inferno, the boulder stopped on the tall grass. It unrolled and Hyrule fell to the ground. He was shaken but intact. The Goron stood up and the blinding light flashed again. When it faded, the Hero of Time was left in its place.

Time opened his good eye to see his eight companions staring at him. The villagers they had saved stood behind them. Betrayal, fear, shock, and awe played across the young heroes’ faces. Before Time could even begin to comprehend the sight, the world went dark.


	9. Ashes

“Hey.”

_Slap!_

“Get up.”

Time’s eye shot open. A raindrop immediately fell into it. He blinked it away. The Links were standing above him, looking down at him in a mix of any number of emotions. Wild was kneeling at his side. He must have been the one that slapped him. “Huh…?” Time groaned.

Suddenly, everything rushed back to him. The smoke, the village, the fire, he and Hyrule trapped, and… Darmani’s mask. Wincing from pain, he sat up. Heavy rain beaded up on his armor before running off to the soaked ground. “Listen, I can—”

“We don’t want excuses now,” Wild snapped. “Those can wait. We need you on your feet.”

No one offered their hand to help him up. Wind looked about to, but he stayed put. Time gingerly stood up. Every muscle in his body screamed in pain. He had forgotten how much transforming hurt. He hadn’t used the masks in years and years, after all. With a wince, he shifted to his leg that hurt marginally less. He looked around.

His companions had turned from him and were eyeing the surviving townsfolk. Some seemed uninjured, others had mild burns. Everyone was filthy with soot. They were gathered around the Moon Pearl portal, but no one was using it. That didn’t make sense. The Links had instructed them to use it during the rescue. Time turned his gaze to the village.

The rain had extinguished the fires. Everything but the foundations was destroyed. Time could hardly tell where one building ended and another began. They were indistinguishable, making the entire area a burnt and abandoned wasteland. Finding anyone’s remains would be impossible; there were likely no remains left to speak of. Steam wafted off the ruins as the rain pounded them.

Time turned back to the group. “How long have I been out?”

Not looking at him, Twilight replied, “Half an hour.”

“All it took was a half hour’s rain to put out the fire?”

“Yeah,” Sky shook his head. “It— _cough—_ started almost immediately after… after we got out.”

The pause didn’t escape Time’s notice. “What about the survivors? Why haven’t they used the portal?”

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Warriors explained. “We told them they would be safe when they went through, but no one is doing it.”

Four cocked his head to one side. “They’re just standing there.”

“I don’t like this,” Wind said, sounding a bit groggy.

Legend let out a dry chuckle. “You’re not the only one.”

“Have you tried talking to them?” Time asked.

Wild’s face was hidden by his hood. There was an uncharacteristic edge to his voice when he spoke. “No, we were waiting for your lying hide to wake up before we made any move. When you didn’t, I made sure you did.”

The words stung Time more than his cheek. Wild really had hit him with more force than needed to revive him. Sky turned on Wild. “Hey, we agreed to— _cough_ —settle that after we’re out of— _cough_ —here.”

“Hmph,” Wild grunted, crossing his arms. He stayed silent after that. With this downpour, Time doubted that hood was still keeping him dry. The storm clouds extended as far as he could see. No blue streaks of open sky to be found.

“Well,” Time said, “I’m up now. Captain, you have a plan?”

The group’s tactician frowned. “We should go and ask them why they haven’t gone through the portal. Keep sympathetic tones, gentle voices. They just lost their homes, livelihoods, and loved ones. They’re going to be fragile. Try to convince them to go through. Time, you’re the eldest of us, the most likely they will trust… ironic though that may be. You do the talking.”

Time let the words sink in. He truly had ruined his friends’ trust. If they were still his friends, that is. He gazed out at the survivors. Still, none of them had entered the portal. In fact, they seemed to be actively ignoring it. Their complacency rubbed Time the wrong way. “Okay.”

“What do we do once they go through?” Hyrule asked. “We can’t lead dozens of weak fire survivors into a forest crawling with monsters.”

“See,” Warriors admitted, rubbing his chin with one hand, “that’s the tricky bit. I would say that nine of us could possibly protect them all, but we’re in bad shape. Sky hasn’t stopped coughing, Four is still recovering from using his sword yesterday. Legend’s legs ache from using his boots too much. Wind used his sword so much that he’s just about ready to faint. Twilight’s hands got burned from running as a wolf as much as he did. Overall, we’re in pretty dire straits.”

As each Link was mentioned, they either nodded or sheepishly shuffled their feet. Wild’s voice lost its edge as he said, “There’s no way we can make it past the plains and through the forest while protecting them all. I checked my map again, and it will easily be past sunset by the time we reach the next town. We lost a lot of time here.”

Twilight sighed. He had removed his gauntlets and was nursing his hands. “I know we have to do this, but I don’t know if we even can. We don’t have the provisions to feed them all, let alone ourselves.”

“We have to— _cough—_ get them to safety,” Sky managed. “Or try, at least.”

Time looked around at his companions. They really were worse for the wear. Still, they had an obligation to help these poor people. “Sky’s right. We have to try. Come on, we’re going to talk to them.”

The nine heroes walked together to the survivors. Sky still coughed every so often. They had spent over two hours in that inferno. Now, instead of clear skies to recover under, sheets of rain pelted them mercilessly. Between fires, caves, and oceans, the Links had been burning the candle at both ends. All this, and it wasn’t even noon. Time wondered grimly if they would ever get a chance to regain their strength.

“Hello there,” Time called. The townsfolk turned to face him. The rain was washing only some of the soot off their faces, somehow making them look dirtier.

“We’re incredibly sorry for your losses today,” he continued. “We can’t fathom the pain you’re all bearing. But please, follow us to safety.”

Time gestured towards the portal. “Step into this. We’ll be able to lead you to the next town. It will be a long trek, most likely until after sundown. When we get there, we can find a way to feed and house you.”

No one entered the portal. Time was getting frustrated. He tried to keep his voice calm. “Please, let us help you. I’m sorry, but your homes are gone, and there’s no way you can stay. It will take months or even years to rebuild, but for now, you need somewhere to stay and regain your strength.”

Still, no one moved. “By the Goddesses, move!” Legend urged. He strode to the one closest to the portal. He managed to guide the woman into the portal. She didn’t disappear. She stood on the circle for a good few seconds before the Links realized something was terribly wrong. Suddenly, all the survivors turned to Legend. They began to walk almost Redead-like at him. Their faces were completely blank, no emotions on features, no feeling in their eyes. Legend backed up. His companions reached for their weapons.

“Hey now,” he said as if being approached by a bear, “take it easy. We don’t want to hurt you.”

As suddenly as they started, they stopped moving. A split second later, a cloud of darkness spread across the field, obscuring the Links’ vision. “I can’t see a thing!” Four shouted. “What’s going on?”

Before anyone could yell back a reply, the darkness was gone. The townsfolk had disappeared. A glance in the direction of the village revealed it was missing as well. Now the rain was coming down so hard the Links could hardly see in front of them. “By Hylia…” Sky choked out.

They were all frozen by shock. A shadowy figure appeared in front of them, seemingly conjured out of thin air. Its dull, glowing red eyes pierced the downpour. Hyrule swore it looked exactly like him. “No… Dark Link?!”

The ghostly entity split into nine, each mirroring a different hero. A swarm of whispers filled their ears, all hissing “Link… Link… Link…” They drowned out the sound of the rain pounding down on them. Even Time was beginning to feel afraid. _Was this all his doing?_ The thought struck him like lightning. _It must have been…_

The Links drew their swords and shields and stood fast, facing their doppelgangers. They wondered if this would be their chance to end this here and now. It was Dark Link that led to their meeting, thus creating a new quest for them. No one moved for a minute that felt like an hour. It looked like a game of chess waiting to be played. The rain kept on bombarding them, forcing them to blink the frigid water out of their eyes.

In unison, the Dark Links charged forward. The true heroes readied their weapons, preparing for a fight for their lives. Their evil selves were about to strike, their swords raised. The heroes braced for impact… then, nothing. The cloud of darkness returned. They couldn’t make out their hands in front of their faces, and the whispers rendered them deaf. They looked around wildly, anticipating an ambush.

For a few excruciating minutes, they waited. They had no idea where an attack could come from, or when it would happen. Twilight sacrificed his combat ability to transform, but even his heightened senses could not pierce the darkness. His front paws’ pads stung, so he turned back. Holding his weapons gauntlet-less stung his hands, too. At this point, he didn’t expect any less of this misadventure.

All of a sudden, the darkness and whispers began to fade. Finally able to see and hear, the Links took in the bewildering sight. The sky was clear, not a cloud to speak of. There was still no trace of the ruined village or its inhabitants. Their doppelgangers had vanished as well. The ground was dry, as were their clothes. The rain had never fallen. Time looked skyward. The sun was still low in the eastern sky. Early morning.

The Links looked amongst themselves. Any sign of ever having run into an inferno had vanished. Clothes and hair were clean and unsinged, fatigue was gone, and injuries healed. Sky stopped coughing and Twilight’s hands were no longer raw. Wind felt completely rejuvenated. They looked at each other, at where the village used to be, then back. Their faces reflected looks of fear, shock, and utter confusion. It was as if none of this had ever happened.

“Was…” Hyrule whispered, “was this all for nothing?”


	10. Time for the Truth

“So,” Wind broke the minutes-long silence, “it was Dark Link all along?”

Twilight flexed his hands, turning them front to back, confirming his burns were gone. Content, he turned to Wind. “It looks like it. Makes sense, doesn’t it?”

Warriors nudged Wild. “Guess you were right, eh, Champion?”

Wild frowned. He certainly did not take consolation from being correct.

Sky looked down at his hands. He was still holding his sail. A thought struck him. “Smith?” he asked suddenly.

“Yeah?” Four replied, remembering the panic he felt from thinking he had lost Sky to the fire.

“Where did your Dark Link come from again?”

“The Dark Mirror.”

Sky sighed. He had been right. “Mira…”

“What?”

“The girl I saved from the schoolhouse. She said her name was Mira. As in ‘mirror.’ Dark Link manufactured this whole thing to mess with our heads. None of it was real.”

“But what about our injuries?” Warriors asked. “Some of us were seriously hurt.”

“They’re gone,” Twilight pointed out. “They hurt like hell, but they’re gone.”

“Damn,” the Legend cursed. He kicked out his left leg, then his right. Twilight was right; all his soreness was relieved.

Hesitating to speak for a moment, Hyrule pieced his thoughts together. He remembered the flaming walls surrounding him and Time. “Were we ever in any danger? I was convinced we were going to die back there, until…”

He shot a look at Time. Time couldn’t look him in the eye. Had revealing Darmani’s mask really been necessary? Had his half-truths caved in on him for nothing. He figured they most likely had.

“Well, I was nearly crushed by debris a dozen times,” Wind spoke up. “Sure felt like we were in danger.”

“And I nearly got blown up,” Legend added. “I don’t think I would have been fine.”

Warriors’ brow furrowed as he considered this. “Maybe Dark Link knew we would make it out of there by the skin of our teeth. He probably only returned us to reality when we had suffered enough and made it to safety. If he could control the intensity and pace of the fire, then he might have held it back enough to _barely_ let us survive.”

_Those children_ … Twilight shuddered at the thought. _They were only there to mess with me._

“Dark Link knows us better than we thought he did,” Twilight admitted. “He knew I would turn into a wolf and use my senses. He knew to lay down the scent of children, that I would follow it. He planned on me seeing…” the words caught in his throat. He hadn’t told anyone about what he saw.

He took a deep breath and willed himself to say, “He forced me to see dead children, just like the kids back home, all burnt and deformed. I couldn’t _not_ see my friends in them.”

Time forgot his own predicament as he looked down at Twilight. His haunted expression said more than words could. Between that and where his thoughts led him during their trek through the cave, the beastly hero had faced his demons twice in as many days.

Wind gasped. “Twi, you should have told me. I was right there with you, I could have helped.”

“We had more important things to worry about,” Twilight deflected.

“Yeah, but come on. That’s a big deal.”

“Listen,” he snapped. “I’ll ask for help when I want help!”

The youngest of the heroes stepped back, hurt.

“Hey, no, wait.” Twilight backpedaled. “I didn’t mean…”

Wild butted in. “No, Rancher, you shouldn’t be the one concerned with keeping things to yourself.” The uncharacteristic edge in his voice was back.

Time felt more than saw his companions all turn on him. Eight pairs of eyes glared at him. He tried to keep his composure as he said, “Can we talk about thi—”

“No,” Wild shot back. “We’ve waited long enough.”

The others were caught off-guard by Wild’s demeanor. He was normally among the more soft-spoken and reserved of them, so this change was unnerving. “Since I woke up from my coma,” he continued, mostly directed at Time, “I’ve lived my life not knowing who I used to be. Regaining my memories felt good, but they also hurt more than I ever could’ve imagined.

“The whole time, though, no one lied to me. They were honest. They told me what happened a century ago, told me who I used to be, and guided me towards who I am meant to be. No one held anything back. They knew it would do nothing but hurt me to withhold what I needed to know. But _you_.”

Time winced at how Wild spat the last word. The other seven were dumbstruck. They had never seen Wild so upset or articulate about his feelings.

“But you. You’ve been keeping me—all of us—in the dark. To destroy Dark Link, reverse the wrongs he’s done, send us back home where we belong, we need to know what we’re capable of. We need each other. We need to _trust_ each other!”

“I ca—” Time tried to explain.

“Shut it!” Wild shouted, throwing his hood down to his shoulders. Time now had a good look at the fury in his companion’s scarred face. “We don’t want to hear your excuses! We want to hear what you’ve been hiding from us! How long were you going to keep this up?! How long were you going to _lie_ to us?!”

No one spoke. Wild’s chest was heaving from the strain of yelling. He wasn’t used to it. He looked to the others. They had backed away a few steps, wariness in their eyes. A light breeze blew their hair across their faces and rustled their clothes. It was dead silent for a moment, save for the sway of the tall grass in the wind. Wild realized he may have gone too far. His shoulders dropped.

This was the moment of truth. Determining Wild wouldn’t interrupt him again, the eldest of the group drew in a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I’ll tell you everything. I have masks that hold morbid, terrible power. I acquired them in Termina. I couldn’t have saved everyone without them, but I hate them with my entire being… Each is a manifestation of a deceased person’s soul.”

The others stared with a new mix of disgust and horror on their faces. “So…” Hyrule whispered, “that Goron…”

Time took another deep breath. “Yes. His name was Darmani the Third. He was a proud hero of the Gorons. Trying to save his people from an eternal winter, he was slain by an evil beast named Goht. He came to me as a spirit. By his wishes, I used the Ocarina of Time to heal his sorrow. It turned his soul into a mask. I harnessed his power to kill Goht and bring forth spring. Every time I put on the mask, I feel his regret, his suffering, and his shattered pride.”

More silence followed. Legend remembered an operative phrase. “You said ‘masks.’ You have more?”

Time waited a moment. He had to tell them. “Yes. One came from the son of the Deku King’s butler. It fills me with the terror of being forgotten and dying alone. When I stumbled into Termina, I saw his remains. He was just a dead, crooked Deku tree with a look of despair on its face. I didn’t put two and two together until long after I left.

“Another belonged to a Zora, Mikau. To his people, he was a hero. He only thought of himself as a simple musician. His lover’s eggs were stolen by pirates, so he tried to get them back. I found him mortally wounded on a beach. He played one last song for me, his final audience. After healing his soul, I used it to save the eggs and his people. They never knew the difference between us.” Time paused. “I don’t know how long it took for them to realize he was gone.”

Twilight was put on edge by his own ability to turn into a wolf. This was something else, though. “Is that all?” he asked.

Time was now faced with a final decision. Which would be worse? Leave out the end and still have betrayed his friends’ trust? Or come clean and have them never look at him the same way again? Glancing at their faces, all so young and full of life, he made his choice.

“No. There’s one more. The Fierce Deity Mask. I don’t know who it was, or what its story is. Majora’s Mask, the cause of all the suffering in Termina, gave me it to me before our final encounter. Taking the form of a child, Majora asked me to play with it, for me to be the ‘bad guy.’ When I put the mask on, I couldn’t feel anything but unfiltered, visceral rage. Everything else went blank.

“It took everything in me to take that cursed mask off. The strength, the rage, the destruction, it was overpowering. I came back to my senses and saw that Majora was destroyed. I don’t even know how it happened. I still have the mask, just in case, but I can’t bear to even look at it. I’m terrified that I’ll be tempted to put it on again… that I might never take it off.”

Nine heroes stood motionless, thoughts running wild in their heads, but no will to say them. The one-eyed hero expected fury from his friends. Wild would shout again, rightfully going on about betrayal and violation of trust. Ages passed in the span of minutes.

“Time?” Wild broke their silence. His voice was soft and gentle again, a welcome return for everyone. “I… you… you should have told us. We could have helped you. We all have demons. We understand.”

They all nodded. “How long has it been since you told anyone?” Sky asked.

Time looked back at his storied past. “I told Malon a few years before we got married. The Goddesses know how far back that was.”

“How old were you when all this happened?” Wind ventured.

“It was a little while after my first adventure, so… eleven?”

A collective gasp ran through the Links. Only one had begun his quest younger; Hyrule was ten when he first took up the sword. Sky had been the oldest at almost eighteen. He couldn’t fathom Time’s situation. All that weight on his shoulders, the terror and agony of using those masks, put on top of what he had already shared with them: reliving the same three days countless times, trying to save the world but never getting quite close enough… all that, so young…

Sky just couldn’t relate. None of them could. Their hearts broke, finally seeing how Time’s childhood innocence was robbed from him. True, they had all been thrown into the role of “hero” too young; it seemed fate always let that responsibility fall onto mere children. This just topped the cake.

No one knew quite what to say, so they stayed there in the sun in silence for a few moments. “Why didn’t you tell us?” Hyrule finally asked.

Time looked to the sky, still having trouble looking at them. He held one wrist in the other hand behind his back. “I didn’t want you to be afraid of me. I thought knowing I had such terrible masks would never let you see me in the same light. Or worse, that you would want me to use them.”

The others went quiet again, exchanging glances with each other. Time was surprised by how easily they had taken it. Considering Wild’s earlier outburst, it seemed he had gotten off scot-free. “So,” he said finally, “You’re not upset with me?”

Warriors laughed. Time had not expected that reaction. “Upset? Oh, no, we’re furious. We’re a team, and the fact you didn’t trust us with that is a big deal. However,” he said with a grin. “I think it’s fair to say we understand why, and we all forgive you.”

“Yup!” Wind affirmed.

A wave of assent swept across them. The albatross on Time’s chest took off in majestic flight. They weren’t scared of him. He hadn’t completely broken their trust. Finally finding himself able to look them all in the eye, he saw eight smiling faces staring up at him. He returned the gesture.

Wild walked up to Time. “I’m sorry,” he said, barely above a whisper. Time noticed a single teardrop in the corner of his eye. Knowing the young amnesiac, that could be considered bawling. “I shouldn’t have lost my temper like that.”

“No,” Time said, putting a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “You were completely justified. I don’t blame you one bit. I think we don’t have the time to feel sorry for ourselves anymore, though, eh?”

Wild grinned. He opened his Sheikah Slate’s map and looked ahead toward the next _real_ settlement on their journey. “No, old man, I don’t think we do.”


	11. Can We Get Back to Adventuring, Please?

“Just a few more minutes, boys!” Wind exclaimed. “We’ll be out of these hills and into the… oh, shoot.”

Four smirked. “You forget about the swarms of monsters that might be in there?”

“… Yeah.”

The nine young heroes had been walking a shade above three hours since returning to reality. The fire was far from gone from their minds, so they were glad to be rid of this place. They had to admit this last sight was beautiful, though. The noontime sun shone on rolling hills, wind blowing the tall, swaying grass. A few clouds had crept up on the edges of the horizon but showed no sign of raining on their parade.

As far as Time was concerned, things were back to normal. His companions hadn’t brought up the masks, and they acted no differently towards him than before today. He suspected they may still have questions but didn’t want to dampen their good mood by asking. That was fine. They could discuss it more tonight when they were comfortable and safe in an inn.

Wild chuckled. “Relax, Sailor. We don’t know for sure if there are any monsters. The woods are just so thick that I can’t get a good reading of it.”

“After yesterday,” Legend began, “I’m not shocked there are limitations to that Slate of yours, Chef.”

“Oh, drop it already,” Sky butted in. “We got out of there safely.”

“Yeah, thanks to you.” Hyrule said.

“You can thank Fi,” he replied, patting the Master Sword’s hilt above his right shoulder. “She was the one that guided us.”

“She is quite the sword,” Time added. Secretly, he hated the Master Sword. He saw it as a curse, one of the many factors that led to his childhood suffering. It was a blessing, however, to the other six of them that wielded it. He felt it best not to sully their opinion of it.

“Fi helped me too, once,” Wild said after a moment.

Sky looked at the back of Wild’s head; the latter had the map and was leading the group. He thought Fi had only ever spoken to him. “Really?”

“I was mortally wounded when Calamity Ganon struck my Hyrule a century ago. Zelda thought I was doomed, but the Master Sword glowed and sort of sang to her. That let her know I could still be saved. I suppose I owe Fi my life.”

“Huh,” Sky replied. He drew the sword. Its silver blade reflected the sun brighter than any other, even the Four Sword. He smiled. “Yes, I wouldn’t expect any less of her.”

Given he himself had forged the Master Sword, Sky gathered that his adventure somehow took place before any of the others’. It still confused him how they all could coexist. By reciting the legends and history they knew, they figured out a somewhat cohesive, yet confounding, chain of events.

Sky forged the Master Sword and Hyrule had yet to be established. He was clearly first. Time witnessed the split of the Triforce, so he must be next. Based on the historical texts that Twilight had read in Hyrule Castle’s library, he seemed to live centuries after Time.

It wasn’t long after figuring that out that they realized the rancher was descended from the one-eyed warrior. Over their time together, Twilight began to see eerie similarities between his living ancestor and the ghostly Hero’s Shade who once mentored him. He preferred to ignore them for his own sanity’s sake.

It all got muddier after that. Time had always wondered if Zelda sending him back to his childhood might have disrupted the passage of time. Lo and behold, Wind also seemed to live centuries after Time, but the kingdom of Hyrule had been flooded. In its place was a vast ocean. His legends told of a Hero of Time that disappeared when he was needed. It seemed that the young seafarer lived in the timeline that Time was sent away from.

Even more disturbing was Legend’s story. In his world, Ganon was sealed away by the seven sages, but _not_ a hero. In this alternate reality, could Time have perished in his fight against Ganon? Hyrule had heard vague legends of a legendary sword, but never figured it was the Master Sword until he met his other selves. Strangely, Warriors and Wild somehow seemed to hail from a melding of everyone else’s worlds.

Four was the most peculiar case. Neither the Triforce nor the Master Sword seemed to exist in his world. Instead, there were the Picori bestowing the Light Force upon the Hylians. The concept of it all utterly confused the lot of them. Sky was snapped out of his thoughts of multiple timelines and realities when Hyrule announced suddenly, “Well, took us long enough.”

They had reached the top of a hill and were faced with a tall, dense forest. The heroes couldn’t see the village beyond but figured the treetops were obscuring it. Wild frowned. He thought they would be able to see it based on map’s elevation readings. He hooked the Sheikah Slate back on his belt.

He withdrew his paraglider from his pouch, gripped the wooden handles, and knelt on the ground. In a flash, ghostly flames appeared around the champion. He jumped. An updraft carried him a dozen meters in the air, a hazy image of a Rito soaring up with him. His paraglider holding him aloft, he got a better view of their surroundings.

Satisfied, Wild returned to the ground. Despite seeing him use this ability several times before, the others were still awed by the sight. The concept of fallen warriors imparting this and three other powers upon him was foreign. Time’s experience with his masks was similar, but Wild’s seemed much more wholesome in nature.

“I can see the tops of the buildings way down there,” Wild confirmed. “Five or so hours in there and we’ll be through.”

“Wait, wait,” Warriors said. “Let’s think this through. We do _not_ want another ambush on our hands.”

Wind groaned. Time shot him a look. The seafarer saw it and stood at attention.

Warriors didn’t seem to notice. “Veteran, arrow count.”

Thinking back to last night, Legend remembered that he had counted the arrows before retiring. That seemed so long ago. “Oh, right. Forty-two.”

“Hm… four each. Champion, you’re our best archer, you need more. Volunteers?”

Sky shrugged. “Aye, Captain. I’m better with a sword anyway.”

“Seconded,” Time added.

“Third…ed?” Wind flubbed.

A chuckle spread across the group. Fighting back more laughter, Warriors composed himself. “Okay Wild, take sixteen. Make them count.”

Wild nodded.

“Veteran, Rancher, Smith, Wanderer. Take four each. I’ll take five.”

Legend pulled their stash of arrows out of his pouch and divvied them up. They fit their ammunition in their quivers. “Right, next order of business,” the tactician continued. “Twi, transform and take point. We need your senses. Wild, I want you behind him with two arrows nocked. Fire at Twi’s mark. Sky, cover them. Everyone else, fall in behind them. I’ll take up the rear. Keep your eyes on the shadows. It looks pretty dark in there. Everyone grab a lantern. We’re low on oil, so let’s try to get out of there ASAP.”

The others nodded. This seemed easy enough. At least, if they didn’t encounter anything nefarious. They knew they probably would, but they could handle it. Warriors turned to Twilight and nodded. The latter assumed his beastly form and took the lead. Wild drew his bow and nocked two arrows. The others unsheathed their swords and raised their newly lit lanterns. Casting one last look at the clear blue sky, the heroes entered the dark forest.


	12. Noontime Nightmare

Despite the sun being high in the sky, the forest’s dense tree canopy drenched the whole place in thick shadows. The heroes were glad they decided to light their lanterns, but even those couldn’t illuminate more than a few meters into the darkness. Wild was reminded of a similar forest north of his Hyrule Castle. He hoped they would not encounter the monsters he did there here, too.

The Links spent an uneasy hour walking through the woods. Twilight hadn’t sensed anything strange in his wolf form, but that didn’t sate their feeling they were being watched. Wild still had two arrows nocked on his bow, waiting for the wolf’s signal. The Captain was determined to not get ambushed, or, that failing, make it out alive.

“I don’t like this,” Hyrule whispered. Holding his lantern at arm’s length, he still could barely see Legend ahead of him.

“None of us do,” Legend replied. “Unless one of us does. Does anyone like this?”

Time smiled. At least one of them was trying to keep the mood light. “No, I can’t say I’m very fond of this.”

Wind, used to sunny days on the high seas and night sky starlight playing off the water, agreed. “Yeah, not the biggest fan.”

Twilight was put on edge by the suffocating darkness. His heightened senses as a wolf could barely pierce it. It brought to mind the dark cloud that sent the group out of the illusory world of the burning town. That thought unnerved him even more. There was nothing except the faint scent of his friends behind him and darkness ahead.

_Four more hours of this?_ he bemoaned to himself. _I almost want something to happen… Wait._

A new scent appeared. It was familiar. The stench of rot and death, a few meters ahead and fifty degrees to the right. _Looks like I jinxed it._

The wolf barked and pointed his head in the direction. With no hesitation, Wild _FWIP!_ loosed his arrows. The _THUNK!_ of them finding their mark bounced and echoed off the trees. Now fully alert, the others clipped their lanterns of their belts and drew their weapons. Wild nocked two more arrows as Sky moved ahead of him and Twilight.

They walked slowly towards what could be a slain monster. The flickering light of their lanterns fell upon a stag pinned to a tree. It was dead. Two arrows stuck out of its neck; that they expected. What they didn’t anticipate was a massive spear skewering the poor animal through its side. The weapon was long as Time would be tall with Twilight standing on his shoulders, and nearly as thick as a birch tree. From what was exposed of the spearhead, it seemed to be a jagged, razor-sharp rock of some kind. It was shoddily tied together with fraying ropes.

The stag, pinned to the tree by the spear, seemed to have been dead for a week at least. Flies buzzed around it, and it reeked horribly. Hesitantly approaching it, Sky’s lantern showed it was missing its hind legs. He gagged. He turned back to the group and shook his head as if to say, _this isn’t good_.

“What the…” Warriors said as he inched toward the carrion. “What could have done this?”

Wild wracked his brain. “Something big. Hinox, maybe?”

“Hinox aren’t that big,” Four said. “Only three meters, max.”

“Yours, maybe,” Wild replied, moving to retrieve his arrows. “Mine are giants. Six times my height, easy.”

“Oh.”

“What’s a Hinox?” Wind asked quietly, almost as if he didn’t want an answer.

“Big, muscle-y creatures,” Legend explained. “One-eyed, love bombs…”

“Love bombs?” Wild asked, incredulous. “What kind of Hinox are you guys used to?”

“Some kind more explosive than yours, apparently.”

Time didn’t like this one bit. “Cut the chatter. We need to be on guard. This thing probably likes prey that stands around and talks.”

“And something tells me we’re the perfect prey,” Hyrule muttered.

Twilight barked again. Following the wolf’s snout, Wild pulled his bow’s string and let two arrows fly. Another _FWIP-THUNK!_ The heroes warily followed the sound. Their lanterns’ light fell upon what looked like a fox, again affixed to a tree. The entire front half of its body seemed to have been torn off. This time, a man-sized halberd held it in place. Time pulled it free. He shook off the fox and held the weapon out to the others.

It was finely made, with smooth curves, a polished head, and stained wood. The blacksmith who made it was clearly a skilled one. The materials looked expensive. “This is no traveler’s spear,” Four observed. “This belonged to a knight.”

“So,” Wind ventured, “where’s the knight?”

Warriors looked down at him with one eyebrow raised. “Do you really have to ask?”

“Not really.”

“Figured. Well, it looks like whatever thing is, it’s several meters tall, is smart enough to use weapons, and has a taste for raw meat.”

“Hm…” Wild put all these pieces together in his head. “I’m definitely thinking a Hinox like the ones I’ve seen. Funny, I once had to fight one in a forest like this.”

"Is that funny though, really?" Legend chided.

“At least you have experience, then,” Sky added, ignoring the veteran's remark. “Plus, you have us now.”

Twilight was still in his beast form. He was trying to pick up any other scents. As his companions were talking, he picked something faint up. What’s more, he felt a soft rumbling under his paws. Almost like multiple sets of footsteps… He tried to pinpoint where it was coming from, but it was all around them. He looked to the others. They hadn’t noticed any of it. He transformed back.

“We have company,” he said. “Coming from all directions. Sounds like footsteps and smells… not good. Worse than this carrion.”

"Hinox?" Hyrule guessed.

“Hinox,” Wild confirmed.

“Great.”

Warriors looked to their resident amnesiac. “What can we expect?”

“Six times our size, fat, dim, sometimes armored around the legs. Weak point is the eye. I used spears because it’s not safe to get too close to them. They’ll create shockwaves by beating the ground with their hands, and like jumping and crushing people under their rears. Old man, pass me that halberd.”

Time handed it over. He was no good with a spear anyway. The Hylian Champion took it and tossed it between his hands. checking its balance. He readied it in both hands and took a stab into the darkness. Then he twirled it into one hand, then the next, then back. He nodded, evidently pleased with the quality of the weapon. It also gave him an excuse not to use his janky shield and busted-up sword.

“Rancher,” Warriors said, “how many did you sense?”

“I can’t tell for sure. Four or more.”

“Then I’m not sure if we should split up.”

“I should be able to take one myself,” Wild pointed out.

“Right. Pairs for the rest of us, then?”

Before anyone could respond, the footsteps Twilight had heard became audible to the others. A few seconds later, the stench hit them too. Twilight was right, it was coming from all directions. “We’re being surrounded,” Sky said. “We might want to get creative with our weapons.”

“I agree,” Time affirmed. “If swords aren’t working, don’t hesitate to use anything you need.”

Now the footsteps were growing louder. In a few seconds, the monsters would be upon them. The heroes’ lanterns were infuriatingly dim in the oppressing darkness. Legend pulled out his Fire Rod. “I can’t take these shadows, we’re sitting ducks!”

He held the Fire Rod aloft and ignited the tip with a thin layer of magical flames. The rod illuminated not four, not five, but nine Hinox less than ten yards away. Wild’s description of them was accurate, the others silently confirmed. The reek of the monsters filled the heroes’ nostrils, forcing them to hold back gags. They readied their weapons. Swords and shields glinted from the fire. “New plan,” Warriors whispered. “One-on-one. Got it? Break.”

In a flash, Wild stowed his halberd and drew his bow. He nocked three arrows and fired them straight into the nearest Hinox’s single eye. The giant monster recoiled with a deafening roar, reached up to its face, and tore the arrows out of its eye. Sickly green blood splattered the ground, but the injury didn’t seem to bother the Hinox. It threw the arrows off into the dark and kept moving forward. Wild gaped at it. That usually did some serious damage _._

The others saw this and stared at the monster. Not many creatures can take three arrows in the eye and keep going. Wild slung his bow over his shoulder and drew his new halberd. He rushed at the Hinox. It stared down at this tiny man sprinting at it, baffled. Most things ran from it. Undeterred, it raised its hand to squish the puny thing. As it was about to bring its oversized three-fingered hand down, Wild jumped to the side. He readied the spear.

The young hero’s feet skidded on the leafy forest floor. Taking a half-second to ground his feet, he stared down his target. Aiming straight at the Hinox’s fat gut, he let loose a flurry of stabs. The finely-crafted halberd pierced the monster’s tough skin again and again, sending blood into the air. Wild felt hot droplets hit his face as he attacked. He worked his fingers furiously, turning the spear slightly with each stab, the ax-like head digging in and tearing flesh as it exited.

The monster roared in either fury or agony. Wild didn’t care. Its entrails torn, it stumbled onto its back with a deafening _THUD!!_ Wild ran around to its side and jammed the halberd between the Hinox’s ribs. He used the spear’s handle to vault onto the monster, pounded his boot into its chin, and leapt upward. He twirled the weapon above his hand, secured his grip on it, and spiraled downward.

The halberd’s head bored straight into the Hinox’s eye. After three rotations, Wild righted himself, dug his boot into the monster’s forehead, and hopped to the ground. The roaring stopped. The felled monster ceased its writhing and went limp. Wild cast a look at it to ensure it was dead. Satisfied with his work, he went on to help his friends.

…

Sky was working on his own Hinox. He drew his Beetle and shot it to the side. The flying weapon distracted the brute. It swiped its hands through the air, trying to swat it down. The Chosen Hero saw his moment to strike. He rushed to the monster’s leg, hoping to cripple it. He raised the Master Sword and made an inward slash. The blade struck the wooden guard the Hinox wore on its leg. It was stuck.

Sky yanked on the handle to free the blade from the wood. One tug didn’t work. Two. Three. The blade came free and Sky stumbled backward. By now, the monster remembered its prey. It turned back around to face Sky. Spotting the puny Hylian, it crouched down. It was preparing to jump. Sky remembered Wild’s words and turned tail.

He was several meters away by the time the Hinox’s enormous behind slammed into the ground. The shockwave still threw him forward. He rolled to avoid a faceplant, then managed to get back on his feet. The giant was coming for him again. The young knight tried to get a better look at the wooden braces around its tree trunk-sized legs.

They were held in place by some old, frayed ropes. That was something Sky could work with. He drew his scattershot and filled its pocket with pellets. He pulled back, aimed for the eye, and fired. He knew it wouldn’t do much to stop the brute, but it would distract it. With the monster blinking away the tiny ammunition, Sky made his move.

Taking off at a sprint, he replaced the scattershot with his sword and ran underneath the Hinox. At just the right moment, he made two deft swipes. The ropes severed and their load fell to the ground. The Hinox was still trying to figure out what was happening when Sky ran back the way he came. He held the Master Sword aloft and charged a skyward strike. He lowered the blade to his side, ran under the Hinox, and spun on his heel. The charged spin attack sliced clean through the monster’s legs. Sky ran clear before it collapsed in a heap on the ground. It wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

…

The world froze. Wind was holding the Phantom Sword aloft. Legend would have been proud to see him remember to use the sword’s time-stop ability. All sound and breeze ceased as he dashed around the Hinox. He had to make the most of this moment. He took his hookshot out mid-step, held it in his right hand, and readied it. He aimed up and chose his target.

With a squeeze of the trigger, the chained weapon fired out into the stagnant air. It dug itself into the side of the monster’s head. The young seafarer knew it wouldn’t dig deep enough to do any serious damage, but he wasn’t planning on that. He picked up more speed as he sprinted. Now he was directly behind the Hinox.

The hero kicked his feet off the ground into a high leap. At the apex of his jump, he squeezed the trigger on the hookshot again. The chain retracted, shooting Wind into the up air. Using the momentum of his leap, he rushed up to the monster’s neck. A split second from hitting the Hinox, he swung the Phantom Sword.

The blade cut straight through the nape of the monster’s neck, severing its spinal cord. Wind felt time begin to restart. He planted alighted on the slowly collapsing Hinox’s shoulder, tugged the hookshot’s business end out of its head, and pushed off into a backflip. He landed on the ground just as time fully resumed. The titan collapsed on forest floor. In quite literally no time, the young hero had felled the giant.

The Phantom Sword was exhausting to use without the fairy Ciela’s help, so Wind took a moment to recover his strength. He looked up at the rest of the fight. The others were still working on their Hinox. He could just barely see them through the darkness. He smiled at the sight. The Hinox looked tough, but his friends seemed to be having an easy enough time fighting them. _Nice,_ he thought. _Gimme a sec, boys. I’ll be right there._


	13. Hinox Hijinks

The Biggoron’s Sword was originally so unwieldy when Time was a teenager that he could barely use it. Now, years of using it in lieu of a smaller sword had made him a master of the claymore. He was thankful for it as he faced his colossal foe. Getting too close to it didn’t seem to be a viable option, and without a spear like Wild, this was the next best thing.

The Hinox slammed its massive hand to the ground. Time hopped to the side to dodge. Before the monster could withdraw, the one-eyed warrior managed to bring his sword down on one of its fingers. It severed the appendage easily and dug itself into the soft forest floor. The Hinox recoiled and shook its hand as if it was pricked a tiny thorn. _That thing isn’t even bothered by losing a finger!_ Time realized. It lowered its other hand to the ground. _A swipe!_

A massive three-fingered hand swept its way across the ground. Time didn’t have a chance to jump away before impact. He felt his sword leave his fingers as he flew through the darkness. The hero’s back collided with a sturdy tree, blowing the breath from his lungs. He lay dazed on the ground, trying to remember how to breathe. The rumbling of the approaching Hinox’s footsteps suddenly stopped, replaced by a deafening roar.

Finally gasping in a deep breath, Time looked up to see a jet of flame piercing the shadows. Following the blaze, he saw Warriors wielding his fire rod. The flames illuminated the cold fury on his face. His steady stream of fire covered the giant. It roared and writhed in pain.

The acrid stench of burning hair and flesh snapped Time back to his senses. The Hinox crashed to the ground in a smoldering mess. With a jolt, he noticed that the jet of fire began to lick the nearby tree branches. He stumbled to his feet and yelled, “Wars! It’s down! Stop firing!”

It was too late. The trees had caught fire. Warriors looked around. “Uh oh.”

“We got it!” a shout came from behind them.

Four and Sky were running up to them, holding their Gust Jar and Bellows. The gale of their combined tools reached up into the canopy and buffeted the spreading flames. Thirty seconds of the sustained winds and they went out in a puff of smoke. The Links heard more stomping behind them. Four looked back. It seemed he abandoned his Hinox to help Sky. “Damn it” he cursed. “Be right back!”

He ran back to his monster. Sky turned to Warriors. “Be careful with that thing!”

“Yeah, I guess I got carried away,” he admitted sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Time said as he looked around for the Biggoron’s Sword. It was difficult in the near-blackness. “You saved my hide back there.”

Warriors now had his signature look of pride on his face. “Hell yeah, I did! You’re welcome!”

“Cool it,” Time warned him. “Stay focused.”

“Right.”

“You two already take care of yours?”

“Yeah,” Sky said, raising his blood-stained sword as proof. He looked to Warriors. “You?”

“Yes. I didn’t overdo the fire that time.”

“Good,” Time said. He raised his new-found sword. “We still have a few of these bastards to slay.”

“Ya know,” Sky began, “here I was, thinking they smelled bad _before_ being burnt alive.”

…

“Hyah!” Legend cried as he swiped his sword through the air. “Stay back!”

Two Hinox had decided to gang up on him. They kept up an onslaught, buffeting the veteran hero with fierce blows. He couldn’t find an opening to attack. He had done nothing but block, dodge, and backpedal. Combining the strength of his power gloves with his mirror shield did a good job deflecting their attacks. _At least they don’t have bombs,_ he mused.

“Hey, ugly!” Legend heard someone cry. He looked past the goliaths to see a dimly-lit Hyrule shouting his fool head off. “Over here, you big sons ‘a!”

The Hinox turned to face this nuisance. Hyrule doubted they could understand his words. However, he had no doubt they wanted him to stop. He also had no doubt they would make him stop rather violently. “Come get some!” he goaded, then directed at his friend, “Veteran, come on!”

The two monsters were now lumbering towards Hyrule, darkness beginning to swallow them. Turning their backs on Legend was their first mistake. _Both_ of them turning around was their second. With no eyes on him, he took his moment to strike. He shoved his hand into his pouch and pulled out his Roc’s feather and ice rod. He squeezed the feather tight in his right hand, ice rod in his left.

“Any time now!” Hyrule called.

“Working on it!” Legend shouted back.

He took off at a sprint. His Pegasus Boots boosted his speed, rocketing him forward at the Hinox. Three meters from them, he kicked off the ground. His feather carried him up high into the air until he was well above their heads. At the height of his jump, he raised the ice rod and fired. A concentrated blizzard shot from the rod down onto the Hinox.

Within a few seconds, they were frozen solid. Legend dropped down on one of their shoulders. He put away his ice rod and replaced it with his hammer. He raised it high above his head, faced the Hinox’s hideous face, and brought it down. With a reverberating _CRASH!!_ the force of the blow shattered the ice and the monster within. Legend fell with the chunks of ice. He hadn’t thought that part of the plan through.

Hyrule was watching all of this. The moment he saw Legend begin to fall, he sprinted forward. He wasn’t going to make the catch, he was almost certain. Going into a dive at the last moment, he just barely managed to break Legend’s fall. “Oof!” He exclaimed as his chest hit the dirt hard. He hadn’t thought that part of the plan through, either.

“You— _cough—_ okay?” Hyrule asked with a wince.

‘Yeah,” Legend replied. He still looked shaken. “Never better. Still have to finish this one, though.”

He gestured to the still-frozen Hinox still standing. Its icy stasis froze it in a terrifying pose; it looked just about ready to swipe its hand across the forest floor and scoop up some unlucky prey. Hyrule stared at it, realizing that prey would have been him if Legend hadn’t frozen it. “Thanks,” he said.

“Hey, Wanderer, you were the one saving me,” Legend pointed out. He stood and started for the other Hinox. “Nice distraction, by the way. ‘Hey ugly?’”

“What do you want from me? A dumb insult and living, or a witty one-liner and certain death?”

“Fair.”

Legend reached the monster. He made another swipe with his hammer. This one shattered like the last, and he appreciated that this time he was on the ground. “How are the others doing?” he asked.

“Dunno. I tried to find a Hinox, saw you had two on you, and came to help.”

“Thank you. You okay after that dive?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” Hyrule dismissed.

“Are you su—”

“Yes. Let’s go find the others.”

“If you say so.”

…

Twilight boarded his Spinner and launched forward. The ancient top brought him into a rapid orbit around his Hinox. The monster’s dim brain couldn’t make heads or tails of this, so it began slamming the ground. The revolving rancher was moving so quickly that the monster’s hands consistently lagged by at least a meter. The brute was evidently unfamiliar with the concept of leading its shots.

The center of the Spinner slowly rotated in the opposite direction of the body of it, allowing Twilight to face the Hinox. His mind raced, trying to figure out a strategy. He figured the Ordon Sword would be useless unless he was dangerously close to the giant. He would have to go long-ranged.

He saw that Wild’s arrows were ineffective, but the champion hadn’t used bomb arrows. Twilight drew his bow and nocked a bomb arrow. He pulled back the string, the fuse automatically lighting. Just as he was about to loose the explosive, he realized the Hinox wasn’t slamming the ground anymore.

He didn’t have a chance to curse before he crashed into the brick wall that was the monster’s hand ahead of him. He flung forward off the Spinner, the momentum throwing him too wildly to maintain his hold on the bowstring. Free from his grip, the bomb arrow shot straight into the ground just below the airborne hero.

The explosion catapulted Twilight into the air and up into the forest’s dense canopy. The world spun as he flew through branch after branch, scratching his face and exposed fingers. He felt blood trickle down from a new gash on his cheek. A particularly sharp stretch of wood slashed through his pants and cut into his leg.

Before he could make sense of this, he slammed into sturdy branch and fell onto another. He tried to get his bearings, but the darkness was too strong here among the leaves to see anything. By some stroke of luck, his bow had caught on a branch right next to him. He gave it a tug and it came free.

_Thankfully_ , Twilight thought, _this thing smells terrible._ He transformed into a wolf. His heightened senses picked up the Hinox’s scent. He also got a dim view of the branches around him. The beast vaulted from tree to tree toward that reek. Landing his paws exactly where he wanted was much harder without Midna guiding him. Still, he did his best to keep moving.

A few seconds later, he sensed the Hinox directly beneath him. The wolf became Hylian once more. Deciding to use his altitude to his advantage, he reached in his pouch and withdrew his ball and chain. He held it at arm’s length, took a breath, and dropped it. “One,” he whispered to himself, “two, three…” _CRUNCH_. The heavy ball of iron had hit its mark.

Twilight hooked one of his clawshots on the branch he stood on. Using the chain, he lowered himself slowly out of the canopy. He came out of the branches to see his titanic foe lying on the ground. Its skull was caved in. The ball and chain rolled sluggishly away from its catch. The hero grimaced. He was proud of himself, but it was an ugly sight.

His feet hit the ground and he squeezed the clawshot’s trigger. The claw unhooked from its branch and shot back down to its handle. He collected the ball and chain and spinner then looked around. He couldn’t see his companions through the darkness. How far had he strayed from them? _Here we go again_ , he thought. He transformed and set out to find them.

…

Four left the light and warmth of Warriors’ fire rod to face the Hinox lumbering towards him. Suddenly, the ground started shaking. _THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP._ He whipped his head around, only to find six more Hinox creeping out of the darkness. Three had spears like the one used to skewer the stag. He had slain larger monsters, but seven at once? That was too much.

The giants were getting closer. He turned back to call back to the others for help. They were obscured by yet two more Hinox closing in on him. He was surrounded. The young smithy had no way to tell if his friends were coming to help him. Were he able to see past the monsters, he would know that Hyrule and Wild were on their way.

On one side, Wild sprinted at the wall of behemoths with his halberd above his head. He brought it down, burying the tip in the soil. Using the spear as leverage, he vaulted over them and landed at Four’s side. On the other side, Hyrule recited one of his ancient spells. He felt power surge to his legs. He kicked off into a leap and flew high above the Hinox. He landed side-by-side with his companions.

Four looked between the two of them. Wild’s face and clothes were flecked with a Hinox’s blood. The look on Hyrule’s face showed he was seriously hurt. Before Four could ask, Wild whipped around to face Hyrule. “You have a lightning spell, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Do it.”

Hyrule nodded with a wince. He brought his hands together, closed his eyes, and uttered some ancient incantation. The Hinox were right in front of them. They had maybe five seconds before they met a terrible fate. _How long is this spell?_ he thought.

Hyrule suddenly stopped speaking. He stared directly into Wild’s eyes. With a steely resolve, he said, “Ready.”

Wild nodded. “On my mark…”

The Hinox had arrived. They were raising their hands, ready to squash the young heroes. “If you’re going to do something,” Four shouted, “do it _now!”_

The Hylian Champion grinned. “Now!”

Hyrule planted his feet, raised his left hand, wound it up as if throwing a softball in reverse, and slammed it into the ground. At just that moment, Wild raised his right hand, fingers contorted…

_SNAP!!_

Four just barely caught the ghostly image of a beautiful Gerudo warrior before the world exploded. Lightning pounded down all around him. Over and over, bolts of blinding electricity struck the Hinox. The booming crackling of thunder was deafening, drowning out their roars. Four felt his hair stand on end as static filled the air. The forest undergrowth began to catch fire.

The lightning refused to stop. Hyrule’s Thunder spell combined with Urbosa’s Fury was truly a force to be reckoned with. The sheer brightness of it all lit up the forest, finally clearing the darkness for the Links to see. What they saw was both beautiful and horrifying. Nine massive Hinox stood paralyzed, shaking from the electrocution. The other Links knew those two had electric powers but couldn’t have fathomed the scale of this onslaught. They were stunned, but not from the electricity.

After a minute of continued assault, the lightning ceased. The Hinox collapsed in charred heaps. Sky and Four noticed the burning ground and immediately set about putting out the flames. When they were done, they joined the others in gaping at Wild and Hyrule. The two of them were staring at each other. They clearly had no idea how strong their attack would be.

Wild held out his fist. Hyrule was about to bump it when his adrenaline subsided, and the pain came rushing back. He cried out in pain and fell to his knees. The others ran to his side. “What’s wrong?” Time asked urgently.

“I think I may have broken a rib or two,” Hyrule replied.

“So you lied when I asked you if you were okay after that fall?” Legend snapped

“We needed to stay focused on the fight,” he replied. He tried to shrug but winced in pain.

“That’s a serious injury, though,” Twilight said. “I’m a bit banged up myself, but a broken rib? How did that happen?”

“I was falling off a Hinox and he dove to the ground to break my fall,” Legend recounted. Hyrule glanced at him sheepishly. “He went down hard but said he was fine.”

Wind strode to his wounded companion and helped him back to his feet. “Never mind all this, do we have any potions?”

They all rummaged in their pouches for a moment. They all emerged empty-handed but Twilight, who held up half a bottle of red potion. He glanced at his bloodied pantleg, took a quick swig, and handed the rest to Hyrule. The wanderer took it and downed it in one gulp. The pain instantly faded; his ribs were healed. He looked among his friends in the dim lantern light. They all seemed alright, if not a bit worse for the wear,

“Alright,” he said. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”


	14. Musings and Memories

With the lightning of Urbosa’s Fury and the Thunder Spell having abated, the forest returned to its gloom. Lanterns still did little to help the situation. Wild took his Sheikah Slate off his belt and activated the map. Its blue light played across his face. After inspecting it, he put it back and pointed to his left. “This way. It’ll be three or so hours.”

Eight heads nodded and the company of heroes went on their way. “Champion, are you going to keep that halberd?” Warriors asked.

The finely-crafted spear was fastened to their resident amnesiac’s baldric, next to his bow and Stalfos shield. The ax-like head of the weapon glinted in the dim lantern light. As weapons pulled free from half a fox’s corpse on a tree in the middle of a forest go, it was a nice find. “Yes, why?”

“Do you seriously just steal monsters’ weapons?”

Wild looked over his shoulder at his companion. They were both raised as knights, and Warriors certainly acted like it. He always kept his armor and weapons in tip-top shape. Wild knew how to do all that but saw no reason why not to just take weapons he came across. “Yes. I’m not going to leave a good weapon like this go to waste.”

Warriors shrugged. “Whatever floats your boat,” he said.

“It does,” Wild replied shortly.

The Links walked in silence a while. After another unnerving hour in the dark, the tree canopy began to thin, letting more light in. Within another hour, it was bright enough that they could extinguish their lanterns. The patchwork of sunbeams pierced through gaps in the leaves and spilled light on the forest floor. With lighter scenery came lighter moods.

Time and Twilight felt a serenity neither expected, given recent events. They were both raised in forests, and this stroll reminded them of home. For Time, it tasted bittersweet. He was bullied by Mido and desperately wanted his own fairy, but overall, life in the Kokiri Forest had been kind to him. He cast aside his thoughts of regret and guilt. He whistled a tune he hadn’t in many, many years.

The song carried to the rest of them. It was a simple, cheerful melody. Its lightheartedness resonated with them deep down, like they had known it all their lives. A sudden, inexplicable urge to dance struck them. Wind looked up to the one-eyed hero walking by his side. Time didn’t seem to notice he was whistling at all. “What’s that?” Wind asked.

“Hm?”

“That song. What are you whistling?”

“Oh, that?” Time said with a chuckle. He rubbed the back of his head with one hand. “My best friend used to play that song on her ocarina all the time. She asked me to play it whenever I wanted to talk to her.”

“Do you?” Sky asked.

Time sighed. “Yes. I would give anything to hear her voice again.”

“What happened to her?” Hyrule asked. “I mean, if you don’t mind me asking.”

The eldest of the heroes looked up into the tree canopy. “She became a sage, one of the seven that sealed Ganon away. ‘Saria, the Sage of Forest.’ Has a ring to it, huh? Once I returned to my own time, I couldn’t call her anymore. Goddesses, do I miss her.”

Twilight sidled up next to Time and put his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “If it’s any consolation,” he said, “I’ve got a friend I can’t talk to anymore.”

Most of them could relate in one way or another. Wind smiled, reminiscing on his adventures with the King of Red Lions, Linebeck, and Ciela. “Ha, try three.”

“Or try…” Wild began. He didn’t finish his sentence.

After a moment of awkward silence, Hyrule tried to break the tension. “It’s not a contest, you know.

“Only people losing contests say that,” Wind said.

This got a few snickers. As they walked, the woods became even thinner and more light came in. It was as if their surroundings reflected a positive turn in their journey. They entered a pitch-black forest, fought off seventeen Hinox, and were finally making their way out into the brightness of day.

“Speaking of that halberd,” Sky started, “Wild, you were amazing with that thing! Where’d you learn to do that?

Wild kept looking ahead of them. “It was part of my knight’s training growing up. I’m also good with a claymore… and pretty much anything, really.”

“Anything?” Wind asked. His voice was charged with excited curiosity.

“Yeah, I guess. I’ve used three-pronged, razor-sharp boomerangs—those things are brutal.”

“Wait, seriously?” Twilight interjected. “What if you don’t catch it the right way?”

“Uh…” Wild trailed off. He frowned and crossed his arms. A good ten seconds passed before he shrugged and admitted “Huh, I guess I never considered that.”

“You’re kidding me,” Legend said, putting his hands on his hips. “There’s no way even a weapons expert like you can pull that stunt off. Hell, I doubt that kind of weapon even exists.”

Wild stopped walking. He turned around to his friends. “You don’t believe me?”

Four raised his hand and waggled it, as if to say _I mean, kinda_. “Fine,” Wild said. “I’ve got proof.”

“Really?!” Wind blurt out. He didn’t doubt Wild at all; he just wanted to see whatever this proof was. “Do you have one?”

“Unfortunately, no. I broke the last one.”

“Aww…”

“I do, however,” he continued, hooking his Sheikah Slate from his screen and tapping the screen on, “have a video.”

This was met with looks of confusion; heads tilted, eyebrows cocked, and brows furrowed. “You guys have no idea what a video is, do you?”

Time smiled and shook his head. “Not in the slightest.”

“It’s basically a pictograph, but it takes so many shots that when they’re played really fast, the image looks like it’s moving. It also records sound. Purah, my Sheikah friend who developed the camera rune on my Slate, eventually created this new rune.”

“Well, let’s see it!” Sky urged.

They all wanted to see this. Not only was it new technology none of them knew, but it was apparently proof of this boomerang. With a few taps, Wild brought up the video. He waved the others over to him, who huddled around him to get good a look at the Sheikah Slate. He tapped the center of the screen.

The screen lit up with the image of a vast field with rolling hills. The Links watched in awe as the clouds and grass moved. Before they could get over the shock of a moving picture, a miniature Wild walked into the frame. His hair was considerably shorter. His right hand was hidden behind his back.

“Come on, Link!” a girl’s voice called from out of frame. “Throw it already!”

“Okay, okay,” he called back. The real Wild knew it was coming but was thrown off-guard nonetheless by hearing his own voice. He was still getting over the fact that he sounded different to everyone else than to himself. He felt a pang of longing when he heard Zelda’s voice; another incentive for him and his other selves to finish this and return to their own worlds.

A gasp from his friends snapped Wild out of his thoughts and back to the video. Video-Wild took his hand from behind his back and raised a Lizal tri-boomerang. The screen zoomed and focused on the lethal weapon; it seemed Zelda decided a detail-shot would be a nice addition. Wild took a moment to appreciate her attention to detail.

The boomerang had three jagged prongs branching off a leather-bound handle. It seemed that just touching the blades would break skin. They weren’t far off. The young knight. shifted it in his hand, letting light reflect off the shiny, almost-black surface. Zelda zoomed back out to show Wild’s face. He raised it above his head and grinned.

Zelda zoomed as far out as possible now. “Three!” she shouted. “Two! One! _Throw!_ ”

The miniature Wild whipped his hand forward and let the boomerang go. The deadly weapon spun rapidly up into the sky. It cleaved through the air, flying in a wide arc. Zelda was having trouble following it exactly, but they could track it by the sunlight glinting off its blades. Nearly fifty meters out, it started to circle back.

The other Links unwittingly held their breaths. _How could he possibly catch that?_ they thought. The real Wild smiled, knowing exactly how he had caught it. The boomerang was coming in hot, closing distance. There was something wrong, though. It hadn’t turned back far enough. It was heading straight for Zelda.

The Princess realized this crucial fact too late to get out of the way. She was paralyzed. The cruel weapon would certainly be the end of her. She let out a shriek. Just then, a rush of brown and blue whipped across the screen. _THUD_. The camera panned to the side to see Wild lying on his side on the grass.

They could tell that Zelda rushed to his side by the way the camera was bouncing and shaking. “Link!” she cried. “Are you alright?”

Wild slowly rose to a stand, holding his right shoulder with his left hand. In his right hand was the boomerang. The monstrous weapon was gripped firmly by its handle. By the indifference playing across his features, Wild was only mildly surprised that he made the catch. Zelda was caught between thanking him and apologizing, neither of which coming out quite right.

“Don’t worry about it,” Wild said finally. “Your father did give me a job to do, after all.”

The Sheikah Slate suddenly went dark, then lit back up to show twelve tiny images laid out in a grid. The real Wild turned it off hooked it back onto his belt. He turned to face his friends. Their jaws had dropped. It took a moment before they let out the breaths they just realized they had been holding. “Did you…” Four whispered, “did you seriously do that?”

Wild gave a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah.”

“Whoa…” Wind managed. “How?”

“I didn’t really think about it,” Wild admitted. “I saw it heading for Zelda and knew I had to catch it, so I did.”

Shaking his head with a toothy grin, Legend said “Okay, I take it back. That was masterful.”

Sky was especially taken back. He had never thrown a boomerang in his life. Throwing a wooden one and catching it seemed hard already, let alone one with only a one-in-four chance you catch the end that doesn’t cut your hand off. He supposed his closest equivalent was his Beetle, but that only took moving his wrist to steer.

“That was crazy,” Four said. “You need a _lot_ of coordination to be able to catch that properly.” Then, pointing his thumb at his chest, “and _I_ know coordination.”

A few laughs. Warriors looked up at the sky. By its soft pink hue, it was getting late. He wasn’t in the mood to be in this forest in the dark again. “We need to keep moving. It shouldn’t be much longer, should it?”

Wild consulted his map. “One more hour and we’ll be out.”

A sigh ran through the group. It was about time. They were shocked that even after everything, they would hit their destination before sundown. This put a pep in their step as they resumed their walk. Before they knew it, they were leaving the forest behind them. After several days of walking and more fights than were welcome, they finally made it. This town was neither burning nor illusory, for which the heroes were thankful.

“Friends,” Wild started, “after much ado, welcome to the Town of Selggog.”

“It’s about time,” Legend said. “Feels like we’ve been trying to get here forever.”

Four cocked his head. “Odd name for a town, huh?”

“Link is an odd name for a legendary hero,” Time joked.

“Hey!” the others objected in unison. They exchanged glances and burst into laughter. The Links were their own persons with their own lives, but something bound them all together. Perhaps their sense of humor was just one more thing that they all shared. For all their differences, it was this solidarity that united them in hardship.

Not bothering to stifle a yawn, Sky managed “well, what are we waiting for? We’re not going to get any shuteye just standing here.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Twilight agreed. “Let’s go on, then.”

So, they did.


	15. Inn or Out... Maybe Just Inn.

“The Town of Selggog,” Warriors let the words roll off his tongue. Well, he tried. “Selggog” doesn’t really roll off the tongue. “You think we can restock here?”

Wind looked around the town in awe. Its weathered but dignified buildings stood close to one another in tightly packed streets. The orange light of the setting sun reflected off the high windows. People bustled about on their last-minute errands. Compared to Windfall Island, it was practically a metropolis. “Yeah,” he replied. “Definitely. Look at this place!”

Time was reminded vaguely of Hyrule Castle Town. Being back in civilization was a nice change of pace. He drank in the sights and sounds and smells of the town. Some people eyed the Links warily, perhaps put on edge by nine heavily-armed young men. He supposed these people weren’t used to travelers, let alone warriors like him and his friends.

“Don’t get caught up in all of this,” Time warned the others. “We still need to be on guard.”

Four remembered the gang of thieves he encountered on one of his journeys. “Yeah,” he said. “We don’t need any pickpockets.”

“Anyone see an inn?” Sky said through a yawn, looking for any sign of lodging.

“Not yet, lover boy,” Legend jested.

“We do need to restock, though,” Warriors repeated. “We need an apothecary for potions, a market for food, a fletcher for arrows… Rancher, do you need new pants?”

As he walked, Twilight glanced at his torn and bloodied pant leg. “No, I’m fine. I’ll fix them tomorrow morning.”

“Okay, what else?”

Wild spoke up hesitantly, “An armorer. I need a new shield… and probably a new sword, too.”

“A new sword? Seriously?” Legend asked, whipping around to face his companion. “What’d you do to your old one?”

“The fight with the Stalfos really did a number on it.”

Warriors exhaled sharply. “ You know, Champion, if you took care of your weapons for once, maybe they wouldn’t break so easily!”

“Yeah, come on,” Four chimed in. A blacksmith himself, it always bugged him when he saw how Wild treated his weapons.

Time sighed. Yet again, he needed to stop their bickering. “Lay off him,” he snapped. “Smith, take a look at his sword in the morning and decide if he needs a new one.”

Four nodded. The one-eyed hero took a deep breath. “What we need to do _right now_ is find an inn. No stores will be open at this hour.”

They turned a corner. As if on cue, they spotted a sign swinging from above a building’s door. A crescent moon was painted on the worn, wooden surface. Behind it, they could see the last sliver of sun creep below the rooftops. Stars began popping into sight above them in the twilit sky. “Talk about good timing,” Wind said, stretching his arms upward. “I’m just about ready to collapse.”

The nine companions reached the inn’s door and opened it. A bell chimed as it swung open. The heroes filed in. The place had a cozy feel to it. To one side, several cushioned chairs were arranged around the crackling fireplace. On the other, high tables and stools stood near a bar. A stairwell was set in the far wall. The reception desk was ahead of them.

A portly, balding, middle-aged man sat behind the desk. He had clearly been nodding off, by the way he jolted when the bell rang. That, and the line of drool rolling down his chin; he quickly ran his sleeve across his face. Like the townsfolk outside, he gave the Links a wary look. From the bloody slash in Twilight’s pant leg to the halberd on Wild’s back, they weren’t exactly dressed to the nines.

The man stood up from his stool and took a few seconds to look the Links up and down. “Welcome to the Black Pot & Kettle Inn. Can I help you?” he asked apprehensively.

Time stepped forward. The man stepped back. Spending so much time around Malon and his other selves made him forget how intimidating he could appear. Most folks weren’t accustomed to seeing people with one eye, never mind one with strange markings on his face, wearing armor, and carrying a massive sword on his back. He had to work to dispel that impression.

“We would like lodgings for the night, please,” Time said.

The man, who they reckoned must be the innkeeper, shot Time an incredulous look. “You fellas got the cash for this many of you?”

“Yes,” Time asserted. Firm yet gentle. “We’ll only need three rooms.”

He looked back to his companions, who nodded their assent. He turned to face the innkeeper, who was reaching under his desk. Time just barely caught the man muttering under his breath, “psh, only three rooms.” After a jingling of metal, the innkeeper stood up and held out three room keys. “Can I have a name for these?”

“Link.”

“Huh. Odd name for a… _warrior…_ such as yourself.”

The man’s skepticism escaped none of them. If only he knew who they really were, they all mused. He noticed the indignance on all their faces and lowered the sarcastic tone as he said “Okay, Mister Link. That’ll be three hundred rupees.”

A few of them had to suppress gasps. That was a hefty price for just one night. Thinking quickly, Hyrule stepped up next to Time. He placed a forearm on the desk and stared down the innkeeper. “You know, _sir_ , we don’t have to stay here,” he said, jerking his thumb toward the door. “I’m sure Selggog has plenty of other fine inns that would love our business.”

The innkeeper’s demeanor changed immediately. “Yes,” he agreed, “yes, I’m sure they would. How does… two hundred fifty rupees sound?”

The wanderer wasn’t about to settle. “One hundred.”

Sky leaned over to Hyrule. “Don’t push it,” he whispered in his ear.

Hyrule shook his head as if to say, “ _bear with me_.”

“One hundred?!” the man exclaimed. “Do I look like a fool to you?”

Hyrule had to suppress the urge to answer truthfully.

The innkeeper caved a bit. “Fine, fine, you’re a tough customer. Two hundred.”

“One-twenty-five.”

“One-seventy-five.”

“One-fifty,” Hyrule pressed, maintaining his stony glare. “Final.”

The innkeeper considered this. Hyrule could practically see the gears cranking in his balding head. After a moment, the innkeeper sighed. “Alright, kid. One-fifty, but only cause I’m in a good mood.”

The Links hadn’t expected to get a cheaper price that easily. Hyrule grinned as he reached into his pouch and pulled out his wallet. He withdrew three purple rupees and placed them on the desk. The innkeeper’s eyes lit up. Losing half of his sale didn’t seem to bother him anymore. He swept the rupees up in one hand and held out the keys in the other. Hyrule took them.

“Upstairs, last three on the left,” the innkeeper instructed, crossing his arms. “Bath is at the end of the hall.” He raised an eyebrow. “Don’t make a mess.”

Time stepped by Hyrule and held out his hand. The innkeeper eyed it suspiciously, then shook it. “Thank you for your hospitality,” Time said, “and your generosity.”

The innkeeper gave an indiscriminate grunt. The Links turned and headed up the stairs. The stairwell turned direction at a landing midway up, then led to the second floor. Oil lamps set above the doors lit a long hall with a threadbare area rug running the length of it. They walked to the end and looked amongst themselves.

“How should we split?” Four asked.

“Come on,” Wind said, “you of all people should know how to split.”

This got a few stifled snickers. “Very funny,” he shot back, grinning despite himself, “but seriously.”

“It doesn’t really matter, does it?” Twilight pointed out. “We’ll go by height.”

After a moment trying to figure out the order, Hyrule passed the keys around. They uttered goodnights to each other. Twilight unlocked one door and walked in. Time and Warriors followed. Wind, Four, and Legend did the same, as did Wild, Sky, and Hyrule. The rooms were like the rest of the Black Pot & Kettle Inn: cozy and inviting, if not a bit worse for the wear. Three beds with clean linens ran flush against one long wall. A desk, chair, and dresser were by the other. A mirror hung above the dresser, and a small, open window was set in the far wall.

In one room, the young heroes began undressing from their battle garments. As Sky unhooked his sailcloth from around his neck, he looked over to Hyrule. He hadn’t expected a show like that from a humble traveler like him. “Hey Wanderer,” he said, “that was pretty gutsy back there.”

“Ah, well…” Hyrule replied. “Three hundred seemed high, so I wanted to get it down.”

Sky raised an eyebrow. “Wait, so if you don’t like the price of something, you just ask for it for cheaper?”

“Basically,” Hyrule said with a shrug. “People in my Hyrule charge whatever they want for everything, so you learn to haggle to get cheap prices.”

Wild propped his halberd against one corner. He paused, looking back on his own adventure. “That’s odd. Where I’m from, it’s as if there’s some price guide that everyone agreed to. Everything always costs the same.”

He remembered how much Yiga assassins charged for bananas. “Well, most of it anyway.”

Sky suddenly stopped undoing his baldric. “Wait…” he said slowly, “so when Beedle kept jacking up his prices, I didn’t have to pay them?”

“Beedle?” Wild asked. “You can’t mean the merchant, can you? The one who likes bugs?”

“I… yeah, I guess,” Sky answered, scratching his head. “How can we know the same person?”

Wild thought about it for a moment. He let down his hair. “Aren’t you supposed to live thousands of years before me?”

“I think so.”

Taking off his boots, Wild looked up to his friends. Sky looked as confused as he felt. “That’s really weird.”

Hyrule slid his power bracelet off his wrist. “Hang on, did you say this Beedle guy jacked his prices?”

Sky laughed. “Did he ever! I swear, he nearly drove me bankrupt. Something could be a hundred rupees one day, then be a thousand the next.”

“Seriously?” Hyrule asked incredulously. “And you never tried to haggle?”

With a shrug, Sky undid his belt, then pulled his tunic and chainmail off over his head. “I didn’t really think that was an option,” he admitted.

“Well,” Wild said, unwrapping the patterned cloth from his forearms, “we can use those extra hundred-fifty rupees to buy more provisions. After this knucklehead here”—he jerked his head towards Hyrule—“got himself hurt, we’re out of potions.”

“I’m net even, then,” Hyrule said. “I used the last of the potions, and I saved us the money we need to buy more.”

Sky chuckled. “He’s got you there. You’re one to talk, too. It’ll be more than that to replace your shield.”

Wild looked over the dented Stalfos shield lying next to his other weapons and sighed. “Yeah. That thing is dreadful.”

“Hah, I thought you were able to use any weapon you come across,” Hyrule joked, his voice muffled from taking off his tunic.

The champion shot him a look. “It was designed for a skeleton. There’s practically no room for my arm. It’s also weighted all wrong.”

“Riiight.” Hyrule’s voice was tinged with sarcasm.

Just then, they heard a loud rumbling. Sky and Hyrule stood and were reaching for their swords when Wild waved at them dismissively. “Calm down,” he said. “I’m just hungry.”

Sky and Hyrule looked at each other and started laughing. Now that they were thinking about it, they realized they were starving, too. Wild reached into his pouch and pulled out a few strips venison jerky he made the previous week. He put one between his teeth and held the rest to his friends. Hyrule grabbed a couple and thanked him.

Sky shook his head. “I’m good, thanks.”

Wild raised an eyebrow, shrugged, then ripped some jerky off with his teeth and started eating. The people of Skyloft didn’t keep livestock, so their newest knight wasn’t comfortable hunting and eating meat. Survivalists like Wild and Hyrule were puzzled by this but stopped pressing him after a few days together.

Even so, Hylia’s chosen hero was still hungry. “Do we still have any more of that soup?” he asked.

Swallowing his mouthful, Wild reached back into his bag. “Let me see… uh… hm… oh!”

He pulled out a corked bottle filled with soup. Twilight had shared this recipe with Wild a while back. He said it was the best soup he had ever had in his life. When Wild finally got around to making it, Sky requested that they leave the fish out. It was tempting to eat all of it then, but they had the sense to put a few bottles away. Wild handed him the bottle.

Sky uncorked it and took a swig of the cold soup. It was better hot, but still tasty and hearty cold. He wiped his mouth and looked from Hyrule to Wild. It was only just after sundown, but they looked as exhausted as he felt. “Hey,” he said.

“Hm?” Hyrule grunted, mouth full of jerky.

“Let’s get some rest. Something tells me the old man is going to wake us up early.” He sighed. “Again.”

They nodded. The three of them finished their dinner, undressed, crawled under their sheets, and—after Hyrule extinguished the oil lamp on the wall—shut their eyes to welcome sleep. A few minutes passed before a whisper pierced the darkness. “You guys good after today?” Sky asked.

“Mhm,” Wild grunted back.

“…Yeah,” Hyrule replied after a pause. “But what about the others?”

“I dunno,” Sky said. “Twi looked pretty shaken.”

“Dark Link seriously messed with him,” Wild pointed out. “Those corpses he made him see…”

“And Time…” Hyrule breathed. “You guys weren’t there when he put on that mask. It was awful.”

Something clicked in Sky’s head. He propped himself up on his elbows. “That was him screaming?”

“Yes. He was in so much pain. I can’t help but feel it was my fault; he did it to save me.”

Wild rolled onto his side and looked at Hyrule. The dim moonlight showed the guilt on the latter’s face. “I was in that position once, so I know that he will do anything he needs to to protect the ones he loves. It’s on him, not you.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.” Wild softened his already-gentle voice. “Don’t let this haunt you. It’s not worth it.”

Sky reflected on his own adventure, how Hylia had used him and his love for Zelda so he would willingly run headfirst into unfathomable danger. He reckoned that this courage and love ran through every Link’s blood. “We’ve all been there,” he whispered, “and if I’m on the mark, none of us would have it any other way.”

The Link who felt the least like a hero out of the nine let these words sink in. It was a weight off his chest, but he still had an inkling of that guilty feeling. He looked up at the dark ceiling. “Yeah.” He closed his eyes. “Yeah… I guess you’re right.”

No more words were spoken that night. The three of them fell asleep in a few minutes, as did the six of them in the other rooms. After everything they had been through the past two days, just feeling a soft bed under them was enough to knock them out. The last thought that ran through every one of their minds was the same: _It’s about time._


	16. Panacea

Twilight jolted upright. He was vaguely aware that he woke in a cold sweat. _Must have woken from a nightmare_ , he thought. _Can’t remember what, though…_ It took him a moment to remember where he was. Their cozy room in the Black Pot & Kettle Inn was quiet; Warriors and Time were still sound asleep. His clothes were in a neatly folded pile on the floor near the foot of his bed. He moved over and sat on the edge of the bed.

He reached down and picked up his trousers. The left pant leg was slashed open and stained with his blood. _That tree branch was_ really _sharp_ , he thought. He stood, quietly walked across the room, and opened the shutters to the window. Sunight flooded the room.

Twilight stared out the window, drinking in the dawn-lit town. Selggog seemed like an entirely different place now than it was last night. Save for the occasional bird chirping, it was silent. The streets were empty. Windows were shuttered closed. A thin mist still hung over the town. The serenity reminded him of home. He heard a creak behind him.

The group’s tactician was awake and sitting up now. Warriors shielded his face from the sun with one hand, staring bleary-eyed at his friend. “Can you close that?” he muttered sleepily.

“No,” Twilight replied, still gazing out the window. “I’ve got to sew my pants.”

“Okay, then sew your pants and shut the window,” he said with a yawn.

Twilight sighed and turned his back to the window. “Fine.”

He picked his pouch up off the ground, rummaged a moment, and withdrew a spool of string and a needle. He sat down at the desk and threaded his needle. Carefully, he began to sew the gash in his pants shut. He heard two gentle thuds and another yawn behind him as Warriors got out of bed.

Warriors strode to the dresser and looked in the mirror. He let out an exasperated huff and began running his hands through his hair. He hadn’t taken the time to fix it since finishing his swim two days ago, and it showed. A persistent cowlick was standing up in the back. “Ugh.”

The resident fashionista gave up on his hair when his stomach began grumbling. “You think that bar downstairs serves breakfast?” he asked.

Twilight didn’t look up from his work. “Our dear innkeeper seems a little stingy. I wouldn’t count on it. Besides, we’ve got some food already. Go ask the champion.”

“Fine, fine,” Warriors said, waving his hand dismissively. He made himself decent and was about to leave the room when he turned back. “Twi?”

This time, Twilight turned in his seat to face him. “Wars?”

Warriors jerked his head toward the still-sleeping Time. “Should we wake him up?”

Twilight turned to face Time. Everything from his pose to his face showed he was at peace. Twilight hadn’t seen his friend this serene in a long time. To wake him seemed like a crime. He smiled. “No, let him enjoy his rest.”

With a shrug, Warriors left the room. He closed the door behind him. After a few minutes of precision work, Twilight finished the repair job. He walked to the window and held his pants up to the dawn light. The blood would take a bit more to clean, he reasoned, but at least it was sewn shut. He dressed, spared one last glance at his sleeping mentor, then followed Warriors out the door.

…

“What time is it?” Legend asked. “It’s not like the old man to sleep this late.”

“I’m telling you,” Twilight replied. “Leave him be. He’s been through enough recently.”

Wind took a break from eating his biscuit to jump in. “We all have! It’s not like the last couple of days have been easy on us.”

“The kid’s got a point,” Warriors agreed, tossing his empty soup bottle between his hands. “I know it didn’t really happen, but that fire did a number on us mentally.”

Sky tucked in his shirt and slipped his chainmail on. “And enjoying breakfast together in a warm and cozy inn is probably the panacea for that poison.”

Hyrule put on his boots. “Plus, we got to bed pretty early. I don’t know about you all, but I’m feeling pretty refreshed.”

Wild glanced at the wanderer. “So, what we talked about last night?”

“I’m fine.”

Legend snorted. “Fine like your broken rib?”

The heroes shared a laugh. Even Hyrule had to admit he walked into that. He really was fine. Wild and Sky’s words the previous night had comforted him and relieved most of his guilt. Time did what he had to do to save him. Given the choice of losing his friend or going through an excruciating transformation and then facing the friends he lied to, Time would always choose the latter.

With a yawn, Wind moved his arms back and pushed his shoulder blades together in a stretch. “Whaddaya say, boys? Time to hit the town?”

Four frowned. “Not yet. Champion, let me see your sword.”

Wild reached over to his weapons and drew his sword out of its scabbard. He gingerly handed it to Four.

“Ugh,” Four grunted as soon as he touched it. “Where did you find _this_ one?”

Wild hesitated. “Uh… those Bokoblins we fought last week…”

“It shows. They probably picked up off a traveler they killed.” Four balanced it on one finger to find its center of weight then meticulously went over every chip and dent. “It’s in really bad shape. One or two more hits against a sturdy weapon and it’ll break.”

“Can you fix it?” Sky asked optimistically.

The young smithy shook his head. “No chance.”

“Hylia’s sake…” Warriors cursed under his breath. Wild winced. “That’ll be a pretty rupee. Throw in a new shield and we’re down a few hundred.”

Twilight took one last swig of his own soup. He couldn’t help but to think back to his wild goose chase in the Yetis’ mansion. “Hyrule saved us a hundred-fifty. That should be able to cover a decent sword,” he pointed out, looking out the open window again.

Hyrule blushed. He rubbed the back of his head with one hand. “It was nothing, really…”

“Nothing? That was amazing!” Wind exclaimed. “You worked that guy down like crazy.”

“Yeah, well… Let’s finish getting dressed and wake up Time.” He stood up. He didn’t particularly care if the others noticed his non sequitur. “We have errands to run.”

Legend stood as well and brushed breadcrumbs off his tunic. “Better errands than seventeen Hinox.”

Everyone but Wild, Sky, and Hyrule were about to return to their rooms to gear up when they heard a knock on the door. After exchanging glances with the rest of them, Sky answered. “Yes?”

The door opened to reveal a frustrated Hero of Time. His hair and clothes were disheveled. His one good eye stared them down. “What time is it?” he asked. There was a definite edge to his voice.

Wild consulted the Sheikah Slate. “A bit after seven-thirty.”

“Why didn’t you wake me up?”

Twilight put one hand on his hip. “We decided to let you rest.”

“Yeah, we felt you earned a little beauty sleep,” Wind added.

“I… you should have…” Time’s frustration puttered out. Instead, he smiled. _Maybe I do need to relax a_ bit, he thought. His voice was much softer when he said “Thank you. Thanks, all of you. I appreciate it.”

Eight young faces beamed up at him. They seemed well-rested, a welcome thing after their most recent misadventures. Fortunately for them, it would likely be a low-stress day. Time turned to Warriors. “Captain, do we have a game plan?”

“We need to find an armorer, fletcher, apothecary, and market. Oh yeah, we’ll need some more lantern oil as well. Sleepyhead over here also needs to get a new sword and shield.” Warriors looked down at the shortest of them. “Smith, go with him and make sure he buys something decent.”

Four nodded. Warriors was about to continue when Wild interrupted: “Hey, I know I’m not great with taking care of weapons, but I’m a knight. Like you. I don’t need to be babied.”

Crossing his arms, Warriors looked Wild over. He frowned, then nodded. “Right,” he said. “I know you’re capable. Sorry.”

Wild gave a slight smile and nodded. Expressing his softer emotions was never his strong suit.

Time put his hand on Warriors’ shoulder. “We’ve all screwed up at one point or another,” he reassured. He cocked an eyebrow. “I seem to remember you almost burned the forest down yesterday.”

“But I did that to save you!” Warriors pointed out indignantly.

Legend let out a laugh. “Doesn’t matter why you did it. You still almost burned down the forest.”

Warriors’ face flushed. The others laughed too. _My ego could stand to be knocked down a few notches_ , he admitted to himself. Eager to change the subject, he puffed out his chest and went back into planning mode.

“Right, so I want a buddy system anyway. Safer that way. Four and Wild, get those weapons and some arrows. Wind and Twi, you’re on potion duty. Time and Hyrule can handle the lantern oil. Sky, Legend, and I will get food. I think I spotted a café nearby that we can meet up at afte—"

“Ah,” Time interrupted, “food. I’m starving. I assume you’ve all eaten?”

They nodded. “Good,” he said with a smile. “You all get dressed while I eat something.”

He looked down at Hyrule. “We’re probably going to want another cheap night here.”

Hyrule had just finished fastening his gauntlets. He looked back up at Time. “I don’t know if I can pull off that stunt again.”

“I think he raised his prices just for us,” Twilight said. “Think about how he must have seen us. Nine weary travelers—naïve teenagers at that—who obviously need a place to stay? Of course he’d charge us a premium.”

“So Hyrule’s haggling…?” Sky began.

“Probably brought it back to the normal price,” Twilight finished for him. “No way that guy would give up half his sale willingly.”

Wild’s mind flashed back to the man in Tarrey Town who only paid him one hundred twenty rupees for killing three Calamity-possessed Guardians. “Yep,” he said with a sigh. “Wouldn’t be the first time any of us have been scammed.”

The sounds of the town awakening wafted through the open window. Time stood from his kneel at the food bag and turned to the window. He walked over and crossed his forearms on the windowsill. A few seconds went by before he turned back to his companions. His face bore a smile that radiated like the morning sun outside. “Well?” he asked. “Let’s get going, then!”


	17. To Sell a Butterfly (Necklace)

“We’re lost, aren’t we, Wind?”

“Relax, Twi, we’ll find that potion shop.”

“But we _are_ lost?”

“Oh yeah, definitely.”

“ _Sigh…_ We should ask someone for directions.”

“Where’s the fun in that, though?” Wind countered. He jovially bounced about on the balls of his feet with each step down one of Selggog’s busier streets. “Having absolutely no idea where you’re going makes it a little adventure!”

“We’ve been searching for almost an hour, though,” Twilight pointed out. “Besides, aren’t we already on an adventure?”

Wind frowned. He clasped his hands behind his head and looked up. White, fluffy clouds dotted the otherwise clear sky. “Yeah, I guess,” he said somewhat dejectedly. Then, more chipper than before, “Well, if stopping Dark Link is our quest, then this can be a side quest. How about that?”

“’Side quest?’ Kind of a silly name for it.”

“Yeah? Well… I like it.”

Twilight let out a bark of laughter. “Maybe it’ll stick.”

Some passersby knocked shoulders with the Links as the streets became busier. “Ack!” Wind grunted. “You know,” he called out to someone ahead who had rammed into him, “wouldn’t kill you to say sorry!”

“ _Shhh_ ,” Twilight hushed sharply. “We don’t want—“ he was cut off by someone bashing his shoulder—"unneeded attention.”

Wind rubbed his shoulder and looked up at his partner. “You think they’re always this in a rush?”

“Couldn’t tell you,” he replied. He cast another glance at the signs hanging from the many storefronts. None indicated an apothecary. “I’m not used to city life.”

“Yeah,” Wind agreed, “Gotta say this place is a bit bigger than anywhere back on the Great Sea.”

Twilight patted his pockets. Satisfied everything was where it should be, he glanced at the young seafarer. “Just make sure no one filches anything. You have your wallet, right?”

With a _pffft_ , Wind checked his own pockets over. “Of course I d—”

A pause. “Wind?” Twilight asked. He stopped walking.

The youngest hero looked up at his friend with a sheepish smile. He raised his arms in a guilty sort of half-shrug. “Wind,” Twilight said slowly, “Don’t tell me you—”

“Yep.”

“By Ordona…” he cursed, smacking his forehead. He thought that over. _Why did I just hurt_ myself _? I didn’t do anything wrong._ This just got him more frustrated.

“What did we tell you?!”

“To watch out for pickpockets…” Wind admitted with his head hung. He kicked at a pebble on the road.

“And did you?!”

Wind looked up. His wide, turquoise eyes lit up with an anger Twilight had never seen. “No, Twi!” he shouted back. “I didn’t! So can you please stop yelling at me and making me feel like crap so we can go find it?!”

Twilight was about to fire back, then paused. For all Wind had been through, he was still just a kid. He sighed and looked around. Some people had stopped and were staring at the two of them. “Well? Go on, then!” he called out to the small crowd.

The passersby shrugged and went back to bustling down the street on their errands. When Twilight turned back to his friend, he found him breathing deeply with his eyes closed. “Hey,” he began, “I didn’t mean t—”

“Stop,” Wind interrupted. He opened his eyes and met Twilight’s gaze. “Just because I’m cheery most of the time,” he whispered; Twilight could barely hear him, “that doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings like everybody else.”

“I—”

“Just remember that.”

Twilight had never seen the youngest Link upset enough to yell. He really had struck a nerve. “Okay,” he said. “I will.”

Wind’s expression softened. “Thank you. Now let’s find my wallet. What’re we gonna do?”

“We could ask Sky to borrow the Master Sword for its dowsing ability.” He considered this. “But even if it was willing to help, there are so many wallets in this town that it probably couldn’t pick yours out of the crowd.”

A thought struck Wind. “What about your wolf sense?”

Twilight looked around. The streets were packed with people going about their business. He remembered how the residents of Castle Town reacted to seeing his beastly form. “No. I don’t want to scare all these people.”

“Fair,” Wind replied. “But what else can we do?”

“Uh…” he muttered, wracking his brains. “I… I don’t know.”

Wind jolted to attention like he was shocked by a ChuChu. The sudden movement made his Twilight flinch. “What if I just earn back all the money that was stolen?” Wind suggested, thrusting his arms down, palms up, as if pointing out something totally obvious.

Twilight’s brow furrowed. “That might actually work…” he admitted pensively. “How much was in there?”

Silence, at least between the two heroes. The townspeople were loud and rowdy as ever. “Um…” Wind said, clearly stalling. “Not too much.”

“Don’t dick around with me. How much?”

“About two-fifty?”

“That’s a lot of smashed pots,” Twilight joked, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms. “How do you plan on earning that much?”

The young seafarer dug in his pouch and pulled out a necklace. “I’ve got some treasures I can sell. How many people here would buy a chintzy necklace with a butterfly pendant?”

“With this many people, hopefully at least a couple.”

“How much should we charge?”

“How many do you have?”

“Seven.”

“Let’s see them.”

Wind pulled one of the Joy Pendants out of his old spoils bag and showed it to Twilight. His nose wrinkled at the necklace. It was tacky beyond belief. “Anything else?”

Wind shook his head. “Some trinkets, feathers, a lot of junk.”

“Right, we’ll go with twenty-five.”

Wind nodded, then called out to the crowd, “Hoi! “Beautiful butterfly necklaces here! Twenty-five rupees apiece!”

No one approached. The crowds just kept moving by. Undeterred, Wind repeated his sales call even louder. This turned some heads, but nobody came. He tried once more. The second-floor shutters of a nearby building slammed open. A disheveled old man in a sleeping cap poked his head out. “Quit yer yapping!” he shouted down to the Links. “People are trying to sleep!”

The two heroes glanced at each other, paused a moment, then shrugged in unison. Wind hooked his thumbs on his belt and shifted his weight to one leg. “Guess that’s out the window,” he said.

Twilight let out a frustrated sigh. _If he had just been more careful, we might have potions by now,_ he thought bitterly. _No, stay focused. We need to figure this o—_

“Oh!” Wind exclaimed, startling his partner again. “Let’s find a shop that will buy some of my stuff!”

“Uh, I’m pretty sure most shops won’t buy off strangers. They’re trying to sell their junk, not buy yours. Think how fast they’d go bankrupt.”

Wind shook his head. “No no no, I mean a treasure teller! Someone who deals in treasures. There was one on one of the islands I sailed to. I’m sure there’s one around here.”

“Alright,” Twilight said, “how are we gonna find one? Search every street? That didn’t quite work for the apothecary.”

“Look for a sign with a rupee on it,” Wind replied, scanning the street for such a sign. “There’s gotta be one aro—OH! Look!”

Wind pointed out to the building directly across the street from them. Sure enough, the storefront had a multitude of rupees painted all over it. Twilight sighed in relief. “That was easier than expected.”

“I wouldn’t get too excited. We have no idea what they’ll offer for my stuff. These guys can be _real_ fickle.”

“Right.”

They crossed the street and entered the store. The walls were covered with a bizarre wallpaper filled with celestial bodies and distorted floral patterns. The shelves immediately drew their eyes. Treasures and spoils lined the perimeter of the store. Everything from golden statuettes to fine china to jewelry to precious stones rested upon the shelves. A beaded curtain hung in the doorway between the store and a back room.

While Wind marveled over the treasures, Twilight strode to the ornately decorated counter. It was adorned with an equally beautiful silver bell. He gently tapped its button. A soft, pleasing _ding_ rang out. No one came after a few seconds, so he rang it again, a little harder this time. He strained to hear any movement in the back room but was left wanting.

By now, Wind had refocused and walked up beside his partner. They glanced at each other. A look of confusion and mild annoyance passed between their eyes. Wind shrugged. “Hello?” he called slightly louder than the second bell ring. Nothing.

“Oh, come on,” he grumbled with a huff. He hooked his thumbs in his belt again. “Maybe no one is here?”

Twilight shook his head. “With this kind of merchandise, the door would have been locked tight.”

“So why the heck is no one coming?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

“Alright, here goes,” Wind said with resignation. He cupped his hands over his mouth.

“Hoi!” he yelled. “Is anybody here?!”

Nothing. The hairs on the back of Twilight’s neck stood on end. His eyes narrowed. Honing his wolf senses had carried over somewhat to his Hylian form. Something didn’t sit right with him. “Quiet down. This doesn’t feel right.”

Just then, a drawling whisper came from directly behind the young heroes. “No need to be afraid, dearies…”


	18. A Sailor and a Ranch Hand Walk into a Store

The Links started and whirled around, their hands already grasping the hilts of their swords. They scanned the front of the store for the source of the voice. No one seemed to be there. They drew their swords. Sunlight pouring through the high windows danced on the polished blades. A disembodied voice almost always meant bad news.

Suddenly, there was a movement in the dark corner. They turned it face it. A pale, wrinkled hand seemed to appear out of nowhere and reached up. It drew back a veil to reveal a wizened old woman. Her sparse, stark white hair was pulled back into a loose bun. She looked positively ancient. She stepped forward.

Wind and Twilight stepped back. They now saw that her long robes matched the design of the walls. The same beads of the curtain made up the numerous necklaces and bracelets she wore. Twilight silently cursed himself for not seeing her before. She parted her thin lips in an unsettling smile. “Now, now, young men,” she continued in her dreamy drawl, “this is no place for swords.”

As the woman slowly walked around the heroes to her counter, they exchanged a quick look they understood as “don’t let your guard down,” and carefully sheathed their weapons. Now behind the counter, the woman eased herself onto a stool they hadn’t noticed either. The same starry wallpaper was painstakingly applied to the stool.

Leaning her elbows on the counter and resting her chin on crossed fingers, she stared through them. “Or, at the very least, no place for swords pointed at me. Heh heh heh.”

Her laugh sounded like dust being coughed up by a long-abandoned bellows. “Now… how may I help you boys?”

Wind stepped forward. “You think you can scare us like that an—”

Twilight silenced his partner with a sharp nudge. After a fierce glare down at him, he turned back to the shopkeeper. “What my friend here _means_ is ‘why were you hiding from us?’”

“Well…” she drawled, “I do quite enjoy getting a good… read… of my guests.”

“By hiding in the corner and spying on us while we waited for someone to come?” Wind shot.

The woman smiled again. “Yes.”

“You’re lucky we’re disciplined swordsmen,” Twilight said. He discreetly checked his pocket again. His wallet was still there. “We were about a second away from skewering you.”

“Heh heh heh,” the woman chuckled again. “Yes, yes, very lucky indeed.”

Wind considered their options. Leave the store with no rupees or deal with this hag and maybe turn a profit. He decided to feign friendliness. “Well, ma’am, I think we got off on the wrong foot,” he said, offering his hand. “I’m Link, and this is…”

Twilight didn’t hesitate a beat before he finished, “Colin.”

_The less she knows about us_ , he figured, _the better._

The woman extended her skeletal, liver-spotted left hand to shake. Wind stared at it for a second. _Left hand?_ he thought. _Did she notice how we hold our swords?_

The elder of the heroes nudged the younger again. Wind retracted his right hand and extended his left. He awkwardly shook the woman’s hand. Her grip was much stronger than he had expected from someone her age. She then turned to Twilight. They shook left hands as well. Seemingly content, she crossed her fingers and rested her chin on them again.

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds before Wind asked, “And your name is…”

“Madame Wondra Spectrula Viliafore.”

Another moment of quiet. Twilight decided he needed to keep the exchange rolling smoothly. “Pleased to meet you, Madame Viliafore.”

“Mmm… yes, likewise. Now, I believe you boys are here for a reason?” she asked.

“Yes,” Twilight said. “We have a few trinkets you may want to take off our hands.”

Madame Viliafore’s eyes opened just a bit wider. “Ooh, I do like trinkets. Let us see them.”

Wind tore his skeptical eyes from the old woman and rummaged in his spoils bag. Looking between what was essentially junk and actual quality treasure, he decided to start small and work upward. He grabbed one of the butterfly pendants. It really was garish. After a closer look, Wind could see why no one but that one teacher on Windfall would like them. He placed it on the counter.

The woman’s skeletal hands gingerly picked up the necklace. She inspected the pendant. Her nose wrinkled even more than it naturally was. Wind winced. She lowered the necklace and eyed Wind condescendingly. “Three,” she said with mild disgust; the dreaminess was gone from her voice.

“Deal,” Wind accepted. He was eager to take whatever he could get. He reached into his bag and retrieved the other six. Madame Viliafore raised an eyebrow higher into the folds of her forehead. She snatched them and, with the one already in her hands, placed them at one end of the counter.

_Twenty-one_ … Twilight counted. He didn’t want this woman to pull a fast one on them.

“Anything else?” Madame Viliafore asked. Her voice was floaty again. “Anything less… ordinary?”

Wind nodded. This time, he knew he had to gain her respect. Nothing too fancy, though. He pulled out five colorful feathers by their shafts. He gently placed then on the counter and fanned them out as if doing a magic trick. “These,” he started with a dramatic flair, “are tailfeathers of the Helmaroc King, a magnificent and regal bird native to the Great Sea.”

Madame Viliafore picked up one of the feathers and scrutinized it. Sunlight played off the vibrant vane. Spring green faded into turquoise, then sunset orange, dandelion yellow, and finally brilliant gold. It seemed to glitter in the light. Wind was sure these were a step up from the awful joy pendants.

The Links waited in silence as the old woman inspected the feather. She turned it over in her hands, running her fingers gently across the smooth barbs. By the way that her eyes widened just noticeably, the heroes could tell she was interested. She set it down and carefully looked over the other four. She looked up at Twilight and Wind. “Thirteen each,” she said declared, her voice lacking its dreaminess once again.

Wind nodded. After all the grief the Helmaroc King put him and his family through, he was glad to be rid of the plumes. Twilight quickly crunched the numbers in his head. _Eighty-six._ Madame Viliafore moved her new spoils next to the chintzy necklaces. She rested her elbows on the counter once more, this time tapping her fingertips together slowly.

A beat. Wind realized she was eagerly awaiting his next offer. Twilight looked on. He noted how wildly her demeanor changed. Clearly, the floaty dreaminess was a façade, and she was actually a thrifty businesswoman. Wind looked in his bag, reached in, then pulled out another necklace. This one was a set of jet-black pearls strung together on an ornate bronze chain.

This time, Madame Viliafore looked genuinely intrigued. She leaned forward and snatched the necklace out of Wind’s hand. He was about to protest this rudeness, but Twilight nudged him again. Wind locked eyes with his partner. Even after their conversation in the street, he still felt like he was being treated like a little kid. He decided that problem could wait. For now, though, they needed rupees.

Madame Viliafore looked over the necklace as meticulously as she had the others. There was something unnerving to Wind in the way she worked the pearls through her bony fingers. She raised it up to catch the sunlight, then gently lowered it to the counter. The Links waited with bated breath. At last, she spoke. “This one is a sight to see, my dearies…” she drawled. Then, with her deadpan voice, “Fifty.”

The Links exchanged another glace and a barely noticeable shrug. Wind turned back to the old woman. “Deal.”

Heh heh heh…” she chuckled once again. “I assume you have more, Mister Link? More you weren’t showing until I gave a price?”

Wind stood and stared for a moment. She had figured out his tactic. Twilight knew she would figure it out instantly, but he gave Wind credit for drawing it out so long. The younger of the heroes didn’t take his eyes off the woman as he pulled an identical necklace from his pouch.

Madame Viliafore chuckled again. “Naturally, naturally… you do seem wise… for a child.”

This time, Wind forced himself to restrain a retort. He could feel Twilight’s eyes searing through the back of his head. “Funny,” he said through gritted teeth, “I’ve been told I’m more courageous than wise or powerful.”

_Not bad, kid_ , Twilight thought as he flashed a grin. He resumed his counting. _One eighty-six._

The old woman took the second pearl necklace from Wind’s outstretched hand and put it beside the other spoils. She went back to tapping her fingers together. Twilight noticed her eyes were even wider than before; she knew they had more treasure up their sleeves. He hoped his partner could deliver.

Wind looked deeper in his spoils bag. An orange glimmer caught his eye. He smiled, reached in, and pulled out a solid chunk of amber. It was so large that it could only barely fit in his hand. Trapped in the center of it was a perfectly preserved horned beetle. Madame Viliafore’s eyes lit up as bright as the stone. “My, my… what do we have here?”

“Goron’s Amber,” Wind said suavely, or at least his best preteen attempt at it. He held it up to the light and an orange shadow fell upon the counter. “Fossilized tree sap so flawlessly preserved you can clearly see this eons-old beetle.”

The teller gazed upon the amber, mesmerized. She had stopped tapping her fingers, now pressing them stiffly together. She seemed to be restraining herself from snatching it out of the young hero’s hand. The Links exchanged a quick grin, knowing they had her in the palm of their hands.

Madame Viliafore stared for a few seconds more, then extended her hands slowly. Wind lowered the amber to her. He let go only when he knew she had it securely. He didn’t want their pièce de résistance shattering on the hardwood floor. Still, her hands dropped a fraction of an inch from its weight. His heart skipped a beat. The stone didn’t fall.

Twilight noticed a change in the woman. She seemed too awed by the amber to remember either of her façades. With a barely perceptible shake of her head, Madame Viliafore snapped out of her reverie. She looked up from the amber at the Links. She looked back down, then back up. Twilight couldn’t read her expression. “Well, dearies,” the old woman breathed, “you truly have caught my interest…”

The two young heroes glanced at each other again. Wind grinned. Twilight nodded. They looked back to Madame Viliafore. She looked them over in turn. “Eight hundred,” she said finally. Her voice was a confused sort of mixture between her two personas.

“Seriously?” Wind exclaimed. All that for a chunk of amber was a steal. Twilight was about to nudge his partner to mind his manners but was interrupted by the woman.

“Not enough?” she asked. “Fine, fine, nine hundred. No more.”

Wind turned to Twilight. The young seafarer’s eyes were gleaming. The rancher nodded. Wind turned to the woman. “Deal.”

Madame Viliafore perked up. She probably hadn’t made such a trade in a long while. She gently lowered the amber onto the counter next to everything else she had purchased. Her eyes lingered on it a moment before she looked back to the two heroes. Falling back into her dreamy drawl, she continued, “And anything else for me, my dearies?”

Twilight didn’t wait for Wind’s assent before answering. “No, that will be all.” He crunched the numbers in his head. “I believe you offered one thousand eighty-six rupees for all these.”

The old woman’s face fell; she clearly wanted more treasure from them. Still, she withdrew a key from among the many beaded necklaces she wore and inserted it into a drawer behind the counter. She withdrew three gold rupees, one silver, one purple, one red, three blue, and one green. Twilight grinned as she dropped them into his outstretched hand one-by-one. He glanced down to his partner, who beamed back at him.

“Thank you, Madame,” Twilight said with a slight bow. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

“Yeah, thanks!” Wind added.

Madame Valiafore looked the heroes up and down again. To Twilight, it seemed she was wondering just who and what they were. How did they come across these treasures? Why was a boy so young armed with a sword and shield? Were they friends, or brothers, or something else? He realized how unusual they must seem to ordinary folk and found he couldn’t blame her for being so interested in them.

“Farewell, Colin,” she drawled. “Farewell, Link. It _was_ a pleasure.”

The Links smiled, turned, and exited. Wind found himself squinting in the morning sun; the store had been rather dim. He turned to Twilight. His friend was fitting the rupees into his own wallet. A thought struck him. “Hey Twi?” he ventured. “Why did you say your name is Colin?”

Twilight glanced back at the storefront as they walked away. “Something about that hag put me on edge. I figured the less she knew about us, the better. It is very unusual that we share our name.”

“I guessed that much, but why _Colin_?”

“Oh,” he said. “That. One of the boys from my village is named Colin.”

“Ah,” Wind replied. He assumed Twilight was finished so was surprised when he continued.

“Colin…” Twilight almost whispered. His mind flashed with images of Colin, from his hometown to Kakariko Village to the Bridge of Eldin… to his friend bound to a war staff, to fighting furiously on horseback to save him. He shook his head to clear it. “His father practically raised me after my parents passed, so in a way, I suppose we’re… brothers, almost.”

The older of the two looked down to the younger to see him wide-eyed and smiling. For a moment, Twilight couldn’t help but see Colin in his other self. He returned the smile and ruffled Wind’s hair. “That was a good show back there,” he said.

“Thanks.” Wind hooked his thumbs in his belt as he walked. “I was put off by that woman, too. What do you think her deal is?”

Twilight crossed his arms. “Honestly, I think she’s just a weird old coot. She never tried to pull something over on us and paid what she promised.”

“What about the shaking hands thing?”

Both Links instinctively flexed their left hand. “Hm,” Twilight began. “She may have noticed how we held our swords, or she could have been a lefty herself.”

“Ya know, it wouldn’t surprise me if she did it to maintain her mystique. I’d bet you that isn’t even her real name.” Wind snorted. “ ’ _Madame Viliafore_?’ Yeah, right.”

Twilight chuckled. “I’ll keep my rupees, thanks,” he conceded. It was a silly name.

The two shared a laugh. When Wind sobered up, he looked up at the late morning sky. Twilight mentioning rupees stirred a thought in his head. “Twi?”

“Hm?”

“Are you still mad at me for losing my wallet?”

Twilight shrugged. “Well, I was.”

Wind was still looking skyward but glanced at his friend in his peripheral vision. _Was_? he thought.

“You were irresponsible, and it was a hassle earning back the rupees, but we’re eight hundred rupees richer than we were yesterday. I can’t really stay mad about that.”

The youngest hero let out a sigh. His partner exhaled sharply through his nose and grinned. “Don’t take that as permission to lose your wallet again,” he joked.

“Alright, alright,” Wind waved Twilight off. “I’m sorry. It’s done and over now, though.”

“Yup. Time to buy potions.”

“ _Ugh_ , I forgot about that.”

Wind’s shoulders slumping and Twilight’s acute senses relaxing, the two continued their search for an apothecary. _Hopefully,_ Twilight mused, _our friends have had an easier morning_.

“One more thing?” Wind asked.

“Sure.”

“We’re not going to tell the others that I lost my wallet, are we?”

“Oh, definitely not.”


	19. Swords, Shields, Arrows

Twilight and Wind had already left Madame Viliafore’s shop by the time Four and Wild located an armorer. The town of Selggog was even busier in the late morning than it had been the previous evening. The sights and smells bombarded them. The blacksmith had to walk more briskly to keep pace with the knight, on account of him being a good deal shorter.

Four had planned to help Wild pick out new weapons once they had found an armorer. That was the main reason Warriors sent the two together. The moment they’d entered the store, however, Wild gravitated toward the higher-end swords. He picked a sword, tossed it between his hands, twirled it, shook his head, and chose a different one.

Four looked at the shopkeeper as Wild repeated this routine. The burly man behind the counter eyed the young knight warily. Four guessed his customers didn’t often test his weapons _inside_ the store, if at all. Wild slowed his motions. He grasped the hilt of the sword he had been swinging with both hands, lowering it from above his head. When his hands were at waist-height, he stood still a moment. He took a deep breath.

The shorter of the Links watched in anticipation. The taller released his left hand’s grip and picked up the sword’s scabbard, then fit the blade easily into its place. He looked at Four and nodded. He strode to the shields, grasped an iron heater shield about half his height, fitted it on his left arm, and shook it a few times. He shook his head and tried a few more.

Wild stared at one shield for a moment before tilting his head to one side. He suddenly took off at a jog toward the opposite wall. He jumped, threw the shield to the ground, landed on it, and skidded a meter before he hopped off again. The shopkeeper had had enough. “Hey!” he growled, crossing his arms. “This isn’t a soldier’s barracks, kid. You’re scaring my customers!”

The young hero picked up the shield and checked the face of it for scratches. Content to find none, he faced Four and nodded again. Then he cast a glance around the shop. The Links were the only customers to be seen. The two of them exchanged a quizzical look. Wild turned to the shopkeeper. “Sorry, sir,” he said, “I’ve found what I want.”

The Links strode to the counter. Four passed a shelf with bundles of ten arrows each. He grabbed all fifteen of them. They placed their selection before the shopkeeper. The man scrutinized them. “What are two kids like you going to do with a knight’s weapons and my entire stock of arrows?” he asked.

Four looked up and stared the man in the eyes. He knew he was only sixteen, but he still didn’t like being called a kid. “There are actually nine of us,” he explained with a very slight edge to his voice. “We’re traveling a long way. Between monsters and bandits, the roads are dangerous.”

A few seconds passed before the shopkeeper cracked a grin and let out a bout of hearty laughter. Before either Link could recover from his confusion, the man planted his palms on the counter and continued. “Hell, whatever you say. So long as you’ve got the rupees, you’ve got the weapons. Let’s see… two hundred for the sword, three hundred for the shield, and three-sixty for the arrows… that comes out to eight-sixty total.”

The Links winced at the number. Four shot a glare at Wild. Wild shrugged. He didn’t want to show how embarrassed he was that they were dropping five hundred rupees just because he needed new weapons. Thinking back to his conversation with Sky and Hyrule the previous night, he decided to try haggling. The young knight imitated the wanderer and put a forearm on the counter. He looked the man dead in the eyes. “Three hundred,” he declared boldly. Four saw the mistake immediately, dropped his head, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

The shopkeeper laughed even harder than before. Wild’s half-baked cocky expression faded. “Hoo, boy,” the man said when he calmed down, “I know what you’re trying here, kid. Word of advice, huh? Never insult someone by offering less than half the starting price.”

Wild gulped. “I… um…”

“Save your breath, I can tell you have no clue what you’re doing. Let’s say seven hundred and call it even.”

Eager to avoid any more awkwardness, Wild just nodded. Four opened his wallet and withdrew three silver rupees, four purple, seven red, nine blue, and fifteen green. After placing them on the counter, he looked back in his wallet to find it almost empty. He sighed then stuffed the arrows in his pouch. Wild grabbed his weapons and the young adventurers went to leave the store. Four shot off a quick “thank you” before the door closed behind them.

Wild quickly fastened his new sword and shield to his baldric. “Right,” he started, “now to the café.”

Four sighed. “You’re lucky that guy’s well-humored. That could have gone really badly.”

“How was I supposed to know what to offer?”

They started walking. “I dunno, but definitely not less than half.”

Wild’s shoulders slumped. “Warriors’ gonna be on my hide for weeks.”

Four gently nudged his partner’s hip. “Don’t worry about it, he’ll probably appreciate that you picked such good weapons. I saw the way you tested each sword. Where’d you learn that?”

“Part of knighthood is being able to choose the equipment that will keep you and your wards safe.” Wild went silent a moment. He remembered how the Master Sword had nearly fallen apart from the abuse of the Calamity. “When I’m out in the wilds, I take what I can get. Give me a choice and I’ll take the best I can find.”

“You didn’t pick the most expensive ones, though,” Four pointed out.

“I didn’t like the most expensive ones. This one,” he tapped the pommel above his right shoulder, “was weighted and sized the best for me. I know my abilities and my limitations. I can kill with virtually anything you give me, Four. Still, my own skill only carries me so far. My gear needs to pick up the slack. As the knight sworn to protect the princess of Hyrule, I’m most valuable when I’m at my most lethal.”

Four had to give it to him, that was solid reasoning. When he himself had forged the Four Sword, he put care into every strike on red-hot metal. In a way, he viewed the sword more as a piece of art than an instrument of violence. Wild had a point, though: Before everything else, a sword is meant to kill. Still, something bothered Four about his partner’s phrasing.

“Wild, your value isn’t just in your ability to slay evil,” Four said, careful to avoid the word _kill_. Wild looked down to his companion. Four couldn’t identify his expression, so he continued: “I don’t think you give yourself enough credit. You’re kind, caring, and humble to a fault. You had the weight of the world thrust on your shoulders and nearly died protecting the princess. You lost your memory, but you still soldiered on and saved Hyrule. And you were able to wield the Master Sword, which is a testament to the purity of your soul.”

The shortest Link looked skyward and smiled. “Just look at all of us Links. We share a love for life and a sense of justice that drives us to protect the light. That’s what binds us, what summons us whenever Hyrule needs us most. I’d bet all four of my lives that we aren’t the only Links there have been or ever will be.”

A few seconds passed. Four glanced at Wild. The Hylian Champion seemed lost in thought, as if he were walking on autopilot. The young smithy had had to make sense of four fragmented personalities to achieve his full potential. He still couldn’t make sense of Wild sometimes. He figured, as the other Links had, that Wild came out of his adventure the most psychologically damaged of all of them—even more than Time.

Wild was shocked out of his reverie by a little girl shoving past him trying to chase her friends. The sights and sounds of Selggog rushed back to him. He stopped walking and shook his head to clear it. Four waited a few paces ahead. “Sorry, were you saying something?” Wild asked, still a little dazed.

Four walked back, reached up to put his hand on his friend’s shoulder, and smiled. “Not really, no. Let’s head back to the café and meet up with the others. They probably picked out some good food.”

“Yeah, alright. I’m down for a second breakfast.”

“Hah, you always are.”


	20. Mind the Tea

The Heroes of Time and Hyrule sat at a small table outside The Chipped Teacup, a café near the Black Pot & Kettle Inn. Hyrule took a sip of tea. The hot beverage burned his tongue. Time saw his friend wince and he chuckled. “What’s so funny?” Hyrule asked indignantly.

“If my adventures across time have taught me anything,” Time said with a grin, “it’s that patience is a virtue.”

Hyrule rolled his eyes. “Oh, ha ha. Very funny.”

Time absentmindedly stirred his own tea. “It was a little funny,” he offered.

The humble adventurer shook his head. He swept his gaze over the town around them. The large jug of lantern oil that the two bought sat beside Time’s metal chair. They had sat down for a drink while they waited for the others to return from their own errands. After a few minutes, Hyrule brought his attention back to Time. “Hey, Time?”

The oldest Link looked up from his steaming tea. “Hm?”

“I’m sorry about yesterday,” Hyrule said. He found it difficult to meet his friend’s eye. “For forcing you to use that awful mask.”

Time stiffened slightly. He returned his gaze to his drink, but he didn’t continue stirring. Letting out a deep breath, he looked back up. Hyrule had trouble reading the expression on his face. “Don’t be,” Time said quietly. “If anyone needs to apologize, it’s our bastard shadow. He knows our weaknesses better than what we do.”

Hyrule nodded. His own quest concluded with a duel with his doppelganger, so he didn’t need a reminder of the apparition’s strength. He tried another sip of tea. It was drinkable now, if not a tad weak for his taste. He set the teacup back on its saucer. “I talked to Sky and Wild about this last night.”

Time picked up his own teacup and leaned back in his chair. He knew all too well the weight of survivor guilt. “Oh?”

“Yeah.” Hyrule shuffled his feet.

“What’d they say?”

“That I shouldn’t let this trouble me, that you’re willing to bear any pain if it means protecting your friends.”

Time’s posture relaxed and his expression softened. “Right on the mark,” he replied with a smile. “They know me well. Or more likely, they know themselves well.”

Hyrule cocked his head to one side. Time saw the confusion on his features and continued, “we’ve lived our own lives, each borne our own burdens, but we’re different incarnations of the same being.”

“The Spirit of the Hero,” Hyrule said slowly, his expression clearing.

“Yes.” The one-eyed warrior took a long draw of tea. “We have all put our friends, families, and kingdom before ourselves, so it should come as no surprise that I did the same for you.”

Hyrule took another sip himself. He swallowed and willed himself to lock eyes with his other self. “Okay. I—”

“Hoi! We’re back!” a gleeful voice cut him off.

The two heroes turned in their seats to find Wind and Twilight emerging from the crowd. They pulled up chairs to the round table and sat down. Twilight set down a medium-sized bag by his feet. The clinking of glass indicated the bag was filled with bottles of potion. Wind slumped back in his chair. “So, how was your morning?” he asked.

“Not bad,” Hyrule replied. “We got enough lantern oil for the lot of us. You guys have trouble finding an apothecary?”

Wind and Twilight exchanged a glance. “Eh,” the latter said nonchalantly. “We found a treasure teller on the way. Sold some trinkets, scored some rupees.”

This got the others’ attention. Time leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. “Just how much is ‘some?’”

Twilight was about to answer when his acute hearing picked up approaching footsteps among the crowd. He looked up to see Four and Wild making their way to the café. They didn’t have the chance to exchange greetings before Sky, Legend, and Warriors arrived. Sky carried a large sack that could only contain the provisions they set out to buy.

Wild’s eyes lit up at the sight of the food bag. He had barely extended his hand to Sky for it before Warriors asked, “So? Let’s see the new weapons, Champion.”

Wild sighed and brandished his new sword and shield. The others took in the sight of them. The noontime sun’s light gleamed off the polished blade. A deep maroon Hylian Crest adorned the face of the shield. Warriors looked them over then extended his left hand. “May I?”

The sword passed from one knight to the other. “Damn…” Warriors sighed, inspecting the weapon. Its basic-yet-stately design complemented the clear lethality of the thing. “Good choice, mate,” he said finally with a grin. Wild returned the smile. “Do I want to know how much these cost?”

“Five hundred,” Four said, “which honestly isn’t bad for weapons of this quality.”

Warriors thought a moment, then nodded. Wild was glad for the approval. “Plus three-sixty for the arrows,” Four continued. “It was a good price, so I got a hundred fifty of them.

Wind saw his opportunity to announce today’s profit. “Well, lucky for all of us, Twi and I found a treasure teller on our little side quest to buy potions.” He clasped his hands behind his head and grinned. “We sold some old spoils from my maritime travels and won us a pretty _eight hundred_ rupees!”

This was met with grins and whistles. The seafarer beamed, happy his blunder somehow turned out for the better. Legend jolted alert, remembering something. “Speaking of you and rupees,” he began, “I saw this fall out of your pocket right before you disappeared into the crowd.”

Legend opened his pouch and withdrew none other than Wind’s lost wallet. He dangled it by its cinching tassels. Wind and Twilight’s jaws dropped. “You wouldn’t want someone to make off with this.”

A few Links groaned. Time crossed his arms. “Goodness, Sailor,” he sighed, wearing the stern expression he wore so well. “You need to be more careful. Traveling with a party of nine is expensive enough already.”

“Hate to admit it,” Sky started, “but the old man’s right.”

Warriors chimed in, “Yeah, honestly.”

“I don’t even want to think about how much trouble that would be,” Wild added, one hand on his hip.

Twilight found his senses again. “Well, thanks to pink-locks over here, you won’t have to think about it.”

Wind was still stunned speechless by the time Legend walked over to him and plopped the wallet in his hand. He slowly turned to look at Twilight. His partner was stony-faced. Looking between the two, Time began to suspect what had really happened that morning. Their expressions betrayed the real reason they sought out a treasure teller.

The eldest hero saw no point in calling out them out; he knew it would only cause pointless drama. _Better diffuse the situation_ , he decided. He cast a glance around The Chipped Teacup’s outdoor patio, found a server, and waved her over.

The plump, middle-aged woman jumped a bit when she noticed Time’s features. He couldn’t blame her. She took a beat to compose herself. “What can I do for you gentlemen today?”

“Seven black teas, please,” he replied with the warmest smile he could conjure. He looked about his companions. He thought Wild seemed a bit out of it. “Oh, and some pastries would be great.”

“Of course, hon. Be back in a jiffy!”

Time watched her scurry inside the café. He sighed. Even with his armor and weapons back in his room at the inn, he was still intimidating. _Never catch a break, can I?_ he silently lamented. _First, I’m not enough of a Kokiri, then I’m too young to be taken seriously, and now I’m too frightning to have a conversation with…_

“What’s the occasion?” Sky asked, snapping Time out of his reverie. “Pastries? You just said we need to conserve money.”

“Well,” Time started, piecing the sentence together as he spoke, “we’ve been through a lot the past few days, and we have some more rupees than expected…”

Wild butted in, “ _Why_ doesn’t matter. What matters is that we can slow down and eat some good food for once!”

The others exchanged glances. “For once?” Legend asked. “Hey Chef, aren’t you the one who does the most of our cooking?”

A pause.

“Yes.”

The Links shared a good laugh over Wild’s self-roast. They had just quieted down when the server returned and set a large tray down on the table. Beside the steaming teacups lay a plate piled with Danishes, croissants, biscuits, scones, and other baked goods. As if on cue, nine stomachs grumbled in unison.

“Would you boys like me to pull up another table?” the woman asked. She seemed to have noticed Time and Hyrule’s table couldn’t accommodate all nine of them.

“Thank you, ma’am,” Sky answered. “Don’t worry, we can take care of it.”

“Of course, dear,” she responded with a smile.

Sky nudged Warriors and tilted his head in the direction of the nearest table. The two went to it, lifted it, and set it down adjacent to the first table, and the others still standing brought up enough chairs for them. Wild was the first to sit down and grab a pastry. “Mind the tea,” Hyrule warned everyone. “It’s hot.”

Time chuckled. To their server, he said, “That’ll be all, thank you. We’re ready for the check.”

“On its way,” she said sweetly before making her way back inside.

Warriors sat down and started on a croissant. “Alright, everyone,” he said after swallowing his first bite. “We’ve all run our errands?”

Nods.

“Great! Champion, how far’s the next town?”

Mouth full of Danish, Wild consulted his Sheikah Slate. He gulped down his food. “Four day’s walk from here.”

“Phew. Wanderer, you get us another night at the inn?”

“Yep.”

“Alright, that in mind, I say we take the night off and walk the town. Meet back at the inn a few hours after sunset. We’ll wake up with the dawn and move out once we’ve dressed. Sound good?”

More nods.

“Okay then!” the party’s tactician announced. “Let’s dig in!”


End file.
